Meant To Be
by prettycharmedsista
Summary: Set after Forever Charmed. Phoebe has finally found her true love, but what is Coop hiding? And what does all this have to do with Cole?
1. Chapter 1

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**A/N: I don't own Charmed, or any of these characters... This is my first Charmed fanfiction! I hope you like it :)**

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Phoebe sat down on the couch in her loft after what could have been the longest day of her life. They had fought the Ultimate Power, and after three tries, they had finally won. Leo was back, and they had had a few unexpected, but very welcome guests in the form of her mother, grandmother, and nephews. As Coop sat down beside her, a grin formed on her face.

'_Uncle Coop huh?'_ she mused, considering Wyatt's revelation for the hundredth time that day. She had discovered that her love for Coop was not as forbidden as she had originally thought. This wouldn't be a repeat of... the last time. Phoebe could barely bring herself to her last forbidden romance, and knew the leftover wounds from that relationship would never truly heal. That was a big reason she hadn't wanted to start anything serious with Coop. She couldn't handle it if they were forced apart. But the revelation had come that the Elders were behind their relationship, and from what she had learnt from Wyatt and Chris, she and Coop would be inseparable in the future. As she snuggled into Coop's side, a memory suddenly entered her mind.

"I guess the apple was right all along," she wondered out loud, remembering the time she had gone to the past, and learnt her true love would begin with a 'C'. At the time she had hoped it was Cole, but now she was convinced it was for Coop.

She felt Coop's chest rumble as he laughed, "What other letter could it be Phoebe? It was an apple peel!" Phoebe shot up and stared at Coop with shock and confusion in her eyes.

"What did you say?" she asked, still stunned that he knew what she was talking about.

"The apple peel. It can't really turn into another letter, like an 'M' or an 'F'." Coop finally looked down at Phoebe's face and noticed her expression. "Did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"Coop," Phoebe began, "Can your ring show you my thoughts or memories without me visiting them?"

"No. Of course not. Why?" he answered confusedly.

"How did you know about the apple?"

Coop shrugged, "You must have told me. Probably when we were revisiting your past loves."

Phoebe shook her head uneasily, replying, "I haven't told anyone about that. Not even my sisters. Too much happened too quickly, and I never had the chance, and after everything that happened after that, I didn't really want to think about it again. So there is no way I told you. Tell me the truth." Phoebe's initial confusion was slowly morphing into frustration and anger.

"Phoebe, I am telling you that you must have told me. There is no other way for me to have found out. Even the Elders would not have known about something like this. You must be stressed out with fighting the Ultimate Power, and everything that has been going on recently. Why don't we take a trip, and just focus on the two of us," Coop suggested hopefully. Seeing the frown remain on her face, he nervously added, "That is if you still want there to be an 'us'?"

Phoebe was adamant that she could not have told him, but upset expression on his face was enough to quash her anger. She gave him a small smile, and nodded. She really did want to make this relationship work. She loved Coop, despite their short time of knowing each other, and all the signs were finally pointing towards a happy ending.

"Okay Coop. A trip sounds great. Where did you have in mind?"

"I know this great spot," he beamed. "It would be perfect for a picnic, and it's right about lunchtime there. How about we go right now?"

"What? Now?" Phoebe exclaimed. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. What about her sisters? She couldn't leave without telling them. What if something happened with Billie. They still didn't know where they stood with her. And her next column was due. She couldn't very well take a vacation without asking Elise.

"Calm down Phoebe," placated Coop. "I don't have to read your mind to know what you are worried about. But your sisters and Billie and your job will be fine without you. I'm just taking you out for a quick meal first. We can plan our big trip later. But I really think we need to talk about everything now. You know, get to know each other properly, without anyone in the way." Coop paused, evaluating Phoebe's face. Once satisfied she wasn't going to protest further, he continued. "I love you Phoebe Halliwell. I really do. And all I'm asking of you is to accompany me to a beautiful chalet for a few hours. We'll be back in no time. Please?"

Phoebe relented and sighed, "I love you too Coop. Okay. Let's go." She moved towards him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He held her to his chest protectively, and they both hearted out, confused by what had happened between them, but both had hope growing in their heart about what may lie ahead of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I don't own Charmed, or any of its characters... Thanks to BelovedSlayer, ColeTurnerFan, Marie Nomad, JRose, and Joleca for reviewing! I love reading your theories, and I hope I can keep you guessing on what may happen next!**

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Still entwined in each others' arms, Phoebe and Coop appeared in a beautiful garden. Coop felt the familiarity wash over him as he studied his surroundings. The sweet melodies of finches wafted over them, supplementing the amazing view. He could see a magnificent lake beyond the rows of multicoloured roses, their fragrances encasing him in a memory of his many exploits here in his youth. He turned to look at his love, expecting the sight of her wonderment to only add to the perfection of this scene, but his excitement quickly crashed down around him, turning into dismay as he witnessed a look of horror darken her face.

Phoebe froze in disbelief. She felt like she was in a nightmare. She turned her head in every direction, desperate for something to prove her wrong. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing unfamiliar about this place. The same finches, which she had once found soothing, now mocked her with their songs. The icy blue water of the lake chilled her, and filled her with dread. Rows of thorny roses loomed ahead of her, barring any escape. She felt two eyes upon her, and she turned in fear, unsure of what, or more importantly _who_ she might find. She exhaled a little in relief when she was met with the warm brown eyes of Coop, who looked at her in concern, but she was still on edge.

"Why would you bring me here?" she asked quietly. She did not know what game Coop was playing, but after their conversation in the loft, bringing her here, to a chalet, which she knew was in the south of France, was fraying her very fragile nerves.

"What are you talking about, Phoebe?" Coop began, "You loved it here the last time, and it has barely changed since then. I... I thought you would love the surprise." His shoulders slumped, unsure why she had been acting so strange lately. He had genuinely thought returning to this spot would cheer her up as it had been one of _their_ memories, not that of any of her past relationships.

"Coop, I loved it here then, because I loved _him_, okay? This place only reminds me of everything that happened. I love you know, why would you bring _him_ up again. Especially after the fight we just had."

"Loved who? Who am I bringing up? I don't know what you are talking about. You are talking in riddles. When we came here last time it was a great break from the stress of preparing for the next demonic threat. I thought it would be nice to come back here now that there are no more threats."

"We? Coop, you're the one talking in riddles." Phoebe held her head in her hands. She didn't like the way he was acting, almost as though he was... But that couldn't be true. "_We _haven't been here before. _I _have, and it definitely was not with you. I-"

Furious at her statement, Coop interrupted, "I don't know who else you've brought here, but I was the one who showed you this place first. It has been my second home since I was a child."

"STOP IT!" Phoebe shouted, all her emotions pouring out. "Stop it. This was _Cole's_ childhood home. _Cole _brought me here four years ago, when _he _stressed me out when preparing for the Source. I don't know what you are trying to do, but if this is another one of your methods to 'fix' my heart, I need you to stop. I can't take being here anymore!" She began chanting, _"Take me back, take me away, remove me now, don't let me stay."_

Coop took a step back stunned at her outburst. "Cole? Phoebe, what-"

But before he could finish his sentence, he heard, _"I call on the spirits to right this wrong, and send me back where I belong."_ A shroud of white lights enveloped Phoebe, and with that she was gone.

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**Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I will post the next one up soon! By the way, the spell is a modified version of an actual spell used in Charmed. Can anyone guess which episode it was in?**


	3. Chapter 3

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**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... I am sorry for not updating sooner. My laptop screen broke off its hinge, and is being repaired so I couldn't access my files. Luckily I have my document now, so I will try to update Chapter 4 during the week. Thanks to BelovedSlayer, Pholefan, lizardmomma and Shinigami of Nightmares for reviewing :D Even the shortest reviews make me really excited to write! And congratulations to lizardmomma for guessing the spell correctly! It was the one Phoebe used to send Inspector Cortez to Timbuktu in Charmed Again. Don't worry if you couldn't guess it, I probably couldn't either!**

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Phoebe appeared in her loft with tears streaming down her face. What was going on? First the apple, then the chalet. There was no way that Coop could know about either. And it's not just that he knew about it, but he said _he_ had taken her there before. The thought crossed her mind again, that it's almost like he is really... Once again she snapped herself out of it. Coop was clearly mistaken about taking her there before. Maybe it was another one of his charges. And maybe she had told him about the apple. They did, after all, spend a whole day examining her relationships. The thought that he was really Cole was ridiculous. Maybe she was suffering from the stress of the last few weeks.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. She opened the door to find Coop, holding a large paper bag.

"Before you say anything, please listen to me Phoebe. I'm not really sure what I did to upset you, but I am sorry. I was just trying to give you a romantic outing, but I'm sorry if I sparked some sort of bad memory."

Phoebe wiped the last of her tears away. "I'm sorry too. You were probably right about the stress. Maybe I've just been a bit touchy." They smiled at each other, both harbouring confusion, and frustration beneath their calm exterior, but both were willing to forget their problems, at least for the time being.

"Please come in," Phoebe invited, moving out of the doorway. Coop came in, and set the paper bag on the coffee table.

"I brought Chinese food, and a movie. It's not lunchtime here, but you never turn down a midnight feast, right?" Phoebe just smiled at him. This was a tradition of theirs, in the short space of time they had been together. Coop knew how busy she was, but wasn't willing for her to let love slip away. He would bring her food, sometimes dinner, sometimes dessert, at odd hours of the night, knowing she slept very late. They would stay up eating, and discussing what she saw in a man, until the conversation changed to various other topics. Getting to know each other in this way led them to the path of love.

As Phoebe finished the last wanton, she sighed in contentment. She and Coop had kept the conversation light, and the events that occurred earlier that day had been pushed to the far corners of their minds.

"Time for the movie?" questioned Phoebe. Coop's choices were always good, and every time they watched a movie, she felt like she was discovering another side of him.

"Sounds good to me," Coop grinned, glad to see Phoebe in good spirits again. He grabbed the DVD out of the bag and put it into the player. He moved back to the couch, and put his arm around Phoebe. The movie he selected was an oldie, but a goodie, and it was special to the two of them. He thought it would be exactly what would cheer her up after her erratic behaviour.

Phoebe curled into Coop's side as the movie begun. Just as she began to relax, her eyes widened in recognition of the opening sequence being played out in black and white. She stiffened, and clenched her fists trying to reign in her temper. There had to be an explanation. Phoebe wasn't willing to throw away the progress they had made over what could simply be a coincidence.

"Coop, why did you pick _Kill it Before it Dies_?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

He looked down in confusion, "Because it's your favourite of course. I thought it might be a good way to apologise to you after the... misunderstanding earlier."

"How did you know it was my favourite?" Phoebe pressed further. Something was not right and she intended to get to the bottom of things.

"Because we've watched it together a million times, silly! What's going on Phoebe? You've been acting really strange."

"Coop, I haven't watched this movie with you," Phoebe said forcefully.

"Yes you have! Am I losing my mind? First you said we haven't been to France, and now you're saying we haven't watched this movie together? Ever? You have your own copy, it was the first movie we watched together. " Coop got up and began to pace.

"Coop, I'm telling you I haven't watched this movie with anyone since 2002. My copy has been in a shoebox under my bed for four years. I couldn't bear to watch it."

"Phoebe, this is too much. _Kill it Before it Dies_ is _our_ movie. Don't you remember the special meaning it held for us?" He notices Phoebe's determined expression morph into fear as she anticipated his next sentence.

She willed for it not to be true but then he uttered the fateful words, "I mean, I was practically in it!" With that Phoebe's vision turned to black as she thudded to the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or its characters... Thanks to Marie Nomad, Joleca, BelovedSlayer, Fiction Ghost Writer, and lizardmomma for reviewing :) Here's an early Christmas present!**

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Phoebe's eyes flickered open to meet the worried looks of both her sisters, as she realised she was in the manor. She began to sit up slowly, but slumped back down into the couch as her head began pounding.

"What happened?" she asked groggily. "My head is killing me."

"You fainted, and hit your head on the coffee table on the way down," came a familiar voice. Phoebe whipped her head around to see Coop standing behind the couch. Memories came flooding back to her as she leaped off the couch, ignoring her throbbing head.

"You. You stay away from me," she hissed. Piper and Paige looked at each other in confusion, then looked between the furious Phoebe, and the puzzled Coop.

"Phoebe, what's going on?" asked Piper.

"Yes Phoebe, would you please tell me why you've been acting this way?" asked Coop moving towards her.

"Piper! Blow him up! He's evil!" Phoebe shouted.

"Phoebe! What did I do? I love you?" begged Coop, trying to get an answer.

"Piper! Now!" Phoebe shouted again.

"Phoebe, are you okay? That fall must have taken a lot out of you. It's just Coop!" Paige exclaimed.

"Fine. If you won't, then I will!" Phoebe used her empathic power to channel Piper, and aimed her explosion at Coop.

"Phoebe!" cried Piper and Paige in shock. Coop looked at her stunned. With pain in his eyes, he hearted away without another word.

"Phoebe you have to tell us what's wrong. This isn't like you. What could Coop have done to make you this angry?" Paige led her sister to the couch to sit back down. Piper was still frozen in shock. She knew this wasn't like Phoebe. Phoebe had only been this angry about one person, and he had been out of her life for years now. As Phoebe and Paige sat down on the couch, she finally snapped out of her trance, and sat down on an armchair, waiting for Phoebe's explanation.

"Coop is... I mean I think it's really..." Phoebe tried, but couldn't bear to say the words, to share her greatest fear. She took a deep breath, looking at her sisters' anxious faces. "I think Coop is really Cole in disguise."

"WHAT?" yelled Piper and Paige in unison. Both started talking at once.

"How is that possible?"

"Do you know for sure?"

"Did he try anything?"

"If he hurt you, so help me God I will..."

"You guys!" called Phoebe, regaining their attention.

"Sorry," they apologised.

"He's just been acting really strange lately. First I thought he just knew things about me because he was observant, like how he knew what my favourite chocolates were. And then when he knew things about my past, I figured either the Elders told him, or he could sense it with his Cupid powers. But last night he knew about something that had happened to me back when we went to when Melinda Warren was born." At Paige's look of confusion, Phoebe added, "It was before your time Paige. Anyway he knew something that I hadn't even told you guys, or Prue before."

"What was it?" asked Piper, curious about this fact that her sister had kept from her for more than five years. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Um, well remember that garden party? Well there was this man telling the guests who their true loves were. He dropped an apple peel into a barrel, and for me it formed a 'C'. At the time I obviously thought it was Cole. I didn't tell you guys because so much was going on with your wedding, and finding Belthazor, and then... Prue. It just didn't seem important at the time. And then, with everything that happened with Cole... there really wasn't a point to tell you. So only Cole knew, no one else could have, not even the Elders, since they weren't there."

"How did Cole know?" interrupted Paige. "Did you tell him?"

"Um no, not exactly. You see he was the one who went back in time to kidnap Melinda Warren. So that our bloodline would cease to exist. It was part of his plan to kill us, before he fell in love with me. So he was there, standing behind me, though I didn't know it at the time, and he saw the peel drop too. He told me later that that was when he started giving into his feelings for me. But that's history. The point is we were the only two people who knew about that. And when I asked Coop about it, he said that I had probably told him, and that he can't read my memory or anything like that. We started fighting about it but then I decided to let it go. What happened next was worse."

"What happened?" asked a concerned Piper.

"He said we should get away for a while, starting with a picnic. I really wanted to forget what had happened, so I agreed. Then we hearted to this chalet, in the south of France."

"That sounds romantic," Paige blurted out. "Sorry! But it does!"

"It was romantic," Phoebe started. "At least it was the first time I was there."

"He took you there before?" asked Paige puzzled.

"No, Cole did. It was right after we stopped Yen Lo. Remember? But the worst part was that Coop insisted that _he _had taken me before. And he told me the same story, about how it was his childhood home, which Cole had told me. The worst is yet to come though. He brought a movie over to apologise. It was _Kill it Before it Dies._"

Piper gasped in shock, while Paige looked at Phoebe, then at Piper, asking, "Am I missing something? What's so bad about that movie?"

"It's Phoebe's favourite," explained Piper. "At least it used to be. Cole used it to communicate with her while he was hiding from the Source. He used to pop in and out of her favourite scenes so Prue and I didn't know. This was when we didn't know he was still alive."

"And I haven't watched it since we vanquished him." Phoebe finished. At Paige's expectant look she rolled her eyes and added, "The first time, when he was the Source."

"Maybe Coop really liked the movie too?" suggested Paige hopefully.

"He said it was '_our movie_' because he was '_practically in it_'." Phoebe pursed her lips. "I can't believe he's back. After all this time!"

"Phoebe, I agree it's weird, but we can't jump to conclusions! I vanquished Cole! He's been gone for more than three years!" Paige was desperate. It couldn't be true. Coop was meant to be with Phoebe, and she couldn't even begin to comprehend the fact that he may be Cole, back to ruin her sister's life.

"He's come back before Paige. He always finds a way. Maybe he didn't really die because he was vanquished in an alternate reality." Phoebe looked at Piper, who hadn't said anything in a while. Meeting Phoebe's eyes briefly, Piper looked away guiltily.

Phoebe knew that look. "What is it Piper? What are you hiding?" she asked suspiciously.

Piper looked up at Phoebe, and then Paige. "Um I have something to tell you guys..."

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**What do you think Piper has to tell them? And how will they take it? So many questions... they will all be answered very soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks to lizardmomma, BelovedSlayer, Joleca, and Fiction Ghost Writer for reviewing so quickly! Some of you correctly guessed what Piper is going to say :D Enjoy!**

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"WHAT?" Piper winced as her sisters began shouting at her. This is why she hadn't told them about Cole's involvement in saving Leo. She knew that Phoebe would always take anything to do with Cole personally, and would end up in pain, and that Paige hated him so much, that she could never have seen the good side in him.

"Look, I know you guys are upset. But if I had told you it was Cole who helped me, you guys would have tried to vanquish him." Her sisters began protesting, but after Piper raised her eyebrows, they both conceded, and let her continue. "I couldn't let that happen after he had helped us. He didn't have to, you know? But he did it, because he didn't want you to give up on love, Phoebe."

"What?" asked a surprised Phoebe.

"Well he put up an arrogant front, but I could tell he was really messed up about how you weren't giving love a chance anymore, because of him, and what he had done. He still loved you, but all he wanted was for you to be happy, even if it couldn't be with him." Piper looked at her sister, pleading with her to understand.

"But then why is he doing this now?" Phoebe wondered. Her headache was progressively getting worse, but she was sure it was no longer due to her fall, but because of the mass of emotions running through her mind. Cole wanted her to be happy with anyone? But he was pretending to be Coop, for some... undoubtedly evil purpose.

"Maybe whatever's going on with Coop has nothing to do with Cole. Maybe Coop is acting weird for some other reason?" suggested Piper.

"Maybe Cole helping you last year was all part of his master plan to come back," accused Paige. "Maybe it was yet another act. We all know he's put up a ton of them before."

As her sisters began to argue, Phoebe knew there was only one way to settle things.

"I want to go to Limbo," whispered Phoebe. Despite being quiet, both her sisters looked at her in surprise.

"Phoebe, it's too dangerous," began Piper.

"Yeah, sweetie, we could get stuck there," added Paige.

"I need to know for sure if Cole's still there. Please, you have to help me."

Although they both had their misgivings, Piper and Paige agreed, knowing that they needed to get to the bottom of this, for Phoebe's sake.

"I can use the spell that I used to find him in the Wasteland, but I need you to bring me back. I just need ten minutes. If he's there I will thank him for helping Piper last year. If he's not..." she trailed off, as they all knew that if Cole was no longer in Limbo it would mark the start of a new battle.

They went up to the attic, and Phoebe pulled a cushion onto the ground. She sat down and started reciting, _"Whither past love, wherever you be, take me to Limbo to be nearer to thee."_

Phoebe blacked out, and woke up in the living room of the manor.

"Cole?" she called, afraid of what she may find. She began looking around, but couldn't see anyone. She tried to walk into the front hall, but felt herself being thrown back into the room. She tried again, but was thrown back once more. Piper hadn't told her that Cole was stuck in the living room. Maybe it was because he was vanquished in this room in the alternate reality. She felt a pang of guilt knowing that he had seen her bring in numerous men into the manor over the years. She felt as if she had somehow betrayed him, but she quickly shook off that thought as ridiculous. They weren't married anymore, and he had tried to kill her, for heavens' sake!

"Cole?" she called again. "If you're here please answer me." But again there was no reply. Phoebe's shoulder slumped as her last hope slipped away. She had known it from the start. It was Coop. What would she do? She had trusted him, and once again she had been burnt by love.

She felt her body being pulled back, and suddenly she was on the floor of the attic once more.

"Well?" asked Paige, with a worried expression. "Was he there?"

"No," said Phoebe. "Start working on the potion. We'll add the flesh at the end." Phoebe moved over to the Book of Shadows, and opened it, hurriedly trying to find a particular page.

"Uh, Phoebe? There's no vanquishing spell remember? It's just the potion." Piper said slowly.

"I know Piper. But, I need to hear the truth from him. I'm not looking for a vanquishing spell; I'm looking for the truth spell. Besides, somebody must have helped him this time. He couldn't have escaped on his own. Whoever it was is going to have hell to pay." Phoebe wasn't going to let this one go. Cole had terrorised her for the last time. Every time she had tried to heal, he had come after her again. Not this time. This time he would be gone forever, and she would make sure of it.

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**I know you might be hoping for Piper to tell Phoebe how good Cole is so they can be happy together, but it is never that simple with Phoebe and Cole is it? ;) Merry Christmas Everyone!**

**I watched the Seven Year Witch today and realised that Piper couldn't leave the living room because her body was still there, therefore, it doesn't mean that Cole is trapped there. However, for the purpose of this story, let's imagine that Cole is mainly trapped there because he was vanquished there, but can, for short periods of time, leave the living room to other places. Otherwise he could have been anywhere in Limbo, and Phoebe wouldn't know that he had escaped. Also I changed the spell a bit because technically Phoebe wouldn't admit to Cole still being her love, and the original wording would have also meant that the spell takes her to _Cole_ rather than just Limbo. I know I'm being picky, but I like being accurate with even the specific details. (Let me know if I've overlooked anything else) Sorry to the readers that are getting an update for this if they've already read it. The next chapter will be out soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Not a lot of people read the last chapter, so I hope the story is not getting boring... Thanks so much to BelovedSlayer, and Joleca for reviewing :D**

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"Is the potion ready?" Phoebe called, walking into the kitchen, clutching the truth spell in her hand.

"Almost," Paige said, still stirring the pot of potion. "Are you sure that the potion will work? Is he even Belthazor now, or is he invincible again?"

"Well you vanquished him as Belthazor," reasoned Piper. "If he is back, it makes sense that he will come back as Belthazor. Besides, he was in Limbo this time, not the Wasteland. He wouldn't have had access to powers, right?"

Phoebe shrugged, "You never really know with Cole. It's been four years. Who knows what he has managed to do. I mean obviously he did find a way to escape. But I think Piper's right. He should still have a Belthazor half, so the potion is our best bet."

Paige nodded. She tossed in the last ingredient, pig's feet into the pot, and watched it bubble. "The potion's done. All we need now is Cole's flesh."

"Well once I hear the truth from him, you can freeze him, and I will be happy to slice and dice him." Phoebe's shock at the turn of events had been channelled into her rage, and her sole mission was to make Cole pay. She couldn't handle thinking about her other emotions right now, so all she could do was focus on her most prevailing desire, to see him suffer, like she had for years.

Piper and Paige looked at each other in worry.

"Are you sure you're up for this now?" asked Piper. "We can wait a while. Or Paige and I can handle it. It doesn't need the power of three."

"I need to take care of it Piper. Paige, I'm sure you did your best in that alternate reality, but sometimes I've wondered since then, if he really was vanquished. This time I need to be the one to do it, so I know he will be gone, permanently."

"Okay then. Let's get this show on the road," announced Paige. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan is that, after I read the truth spell, I will call for him, and get the truth out of him. Piper, be ready to freeze him, and maybe unfreeze his head? So that he can't heart away? After I get the truth, we take his flesh, finish the potion, and then get rid of him, again.

With that, Phoebe walked into the living room and began reading, "_For those who want the truth revealed, opened hearts and secrets unsealed, from now until it's now again, after which the memories end, for those who are now in this house, will hear the truth from others' mouths._"

She then started calling for Coop. "Coop? Coop, come back, I'm sorry."

Coop hearted back, smiling. "I'm glad you're okay again, Phoebe. What happened? I'm worried about you."

Without even looking up at him, she yelled, "Quick, Piper freeze him!"

Piper froze him, and then unfroze his head.

"Phoebe? What's going on? Why are you doing this?" Coop's confusion turned into suspicion. "Are you guys under a spell? Are you evil?"

"Hah!" spat Phoebe, "How dare _you_ accuse us of being evil. Time's up, who are you really? Are you, or are you not Cole Turner?"

The sisters braced themselves for the truth, aided by their truth spell. Phoebe looked deep into Coop's eyes, the man she had fallen in love with. The man she had envisioned a future, and a daughter with. The man who had finally taken away her pain from loving, and then losing Cole. But now here she was, the same place she always was, staring love in the face, getting ready to vanquish it.

"Well? Aren't you Cole?" Phoebe pressed expectantly, when Coop had not yet replied. He had nowhere to hide, and the truth was about to come out.

Coop took a deep breath and said, "No, Phoebe. I'm not. I'm Coop, your Cupid, and I love you. I'm not Cole Turner."

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**A/N: *ducks from objects thrown* Okay, I'm really sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to drop the bombshell, and let you guys stew over it for a while before giving you the next part... And I'm also sorry for the chapter itself... There were talks of vanquishing, and then the big shocker, which I know was not what many of you wanted to read... But trust me, Cole will make an appearance in this story, just maybe it will not be in the way you may have thought... I'm sure you all have your theories, and hopefully I can live up to them! The next chapter will be up soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Sorry for the late update, I meant to put this chapter up much earlier... Thanks heaps to Fiction Ghost Writer, lizardmomma, BelovedSlayer, and Joleca for reviewing :D Once again, it's great to read your theories! I'm so tempted to PM you guys to spill the beans, but I know that will ruin it!**

* * *

"Did he just say he's not Cole?" asked Phoebe in disbelief.

"Relax Phoebe, maybe you worded the question wrong," said Paige confidently. "Coop, were you at any time Cole Turner, or Belthazor, or any evil creature of any kind?" She knew he couldn't twist his way out of this one.

"No, Paige, I wasn't any evil being. I'm a Cupid," came the weary reply. Coop didn't know what the girls were playing at, but knowing their considerable strength he decided to play along, and answer their questions before they did something they would regret.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" asked Piper, considerably puzzled by his responses.

"No, I haven't killed anyone. Of course not." Coop replied, astounded at their accusations.

"Maybe the spell didn't work?" Piper turned to Phoebe.

"But that's how you and Prue used it, remember? And even Paige on, that married guy... Nate? Why would it not work now?" Phoebe asked sitting down on the couch.

"Okay, well, let's try it out on each other," suggested Paige. "We should hear the truth from each other too right?"

"Good idea Paige!" smiled Piper a little too widely. She had had a burning question she wanted to ask Paige for a couple of years now, but knew she wouldn't get a straight answer out of her... until now. "So Paige, what exactly are you and Leo keeping from me about Grams' past?"

Paige's face dropped, and she clamped her mouth, trying to hold it in, but it was too late. "He hit on me."

"WHAT?" screeched Piper. "He did what?"

"Well," Paige tried to explain, "He was a bit of a 'ladies' man'. Showing off his orbs to any girl who passes by." When she noticed Phoebe's and Piper's horrified expressions, she quickly corrected sheepishly, "His blue Whitelighter orb thingys. He made patterns with them. Not his other... uh orbs. Although, he probably would do that too. Oh my god, I'm so sorry Piper. I didn't mean to say... I mean I couldn't control... Uh, sorry?"

"Okay, so the spell definitely worked." Phoebe directed everyone's attention back to the problem at hand. "So Piper and Leo seem to have their own issues to deal with, but my issue is frozen in our living room. Could we please deal with that first?"

As Piper muttered her agreement, grudgingly, Paige asked the question burning on all of their minds, "So if the spell worked, then doesn't that mean Coop really isn't Cole?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Coop called, his body still frozen.

"Oh my god, Piper, unfreeze him." Phoebe ran to Coop and gave him an apologetic hug. "I'm really sorry, but something strange is going on. There is no way you could have known those things about me. The fact that you're not Cole makes it even weirder. We need to get to the bottom of this."

Coop was stiff at first, but then hugged her back. "Phoebe, I still love you, even though you tried to kill me. I saw the hell you went through for love in the past, so I totally understand why you need the answers you are looking for. I don't know how I can help, but I really want to."

"Why don't you tell us about yourself Coop? As in your life before you met Phoebe? Maybe then we can get some answers?" Paige suggested.

"That's a great idea Paige," smiled Piper. "Let me go check on the boys, see if they're still asleep, while you make some tea?"

The two sisters left the room, leaving Coop and Phoebe alone for the first time since their failed movie date.

"Coop, I really am sorry to put you through this. I was so sure that the only way you could have known those things were if you were Cole himself. And the fact that he wasn't in Limbo..."

"You went to Limbo?" Coop interjected with surprise. "Was Cole meant to be there?"

Phoebe explained to him what Piper had revealed about Cole's supposed whereabouts.

"Maybe his helping her ended his sentence there?" offered Coop. "Maybe the Powers that Be finally let his soul move on?"

"Maybe," Phoebe said unconvincingly. "Or more likely, he's somewhere out there, plotting to get me back again."

Coop moved closer to Phoebe, and wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Maybe he is, but this time he'll have to go through me."

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**I know it's another short chapter, but the next chapter will be up on the weekend for sure :) Maybe even earlier if I can!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks to Marie Nomad, Fiction Ghost Writer, lizardmomma, and BelovedSlayer for reviewing :) And a special thanks to HalliwellMB for reviewing all 7 chapters in the space of 30 mins! :D **

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When Piper and Paige returned to the living room, they found Phoebe and Coop deep in thought. Now that the air had cleared, they were both trying to sort out this tangled mess. The sisters sat down and handed out cups of tea, as they prepared themselves, hoping to clear up the many questions hanging over them.

"So Coop, I think Phoebe is a little concerned about how you knew about certain things that happened in her life. If we ignore the apple peel story for now, maybe you could tell us about the chalet? You said you have visited it since you were a child?" Piper prompted.

"Yeah, that's right. My mother and I stayed there quite often. I really loved it," replied Coop.

"Wait, mother?" questioned Phoebe, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "I didn't know Cupids had family? Were you a mortal before becoming a Cupid?"

"No, Cupids don't have families, and I was never mortal," Coop cocked his head in confusion.

"But you just said..." began Paige.

"I know. I said I stayed in the chalet with my mother. I don't really know where that came from. The memory just popped into my mind. But, that doesn't make any sense." Coop stood up and started pacing. "I remember playing in those fields was one of the happiest times in my life. It's more of an emotional memory though. I mean, I remember how I felt, but not much else. Maybe I was really young, and she was some sort of Cupid mentor? I probably just thought of her as my mother?"

"Um ok," offered Piper, willing to give Coop the benefit of the doubt. "Maybe it's just a coincidence that you and Cole had been to the same chalet?" At her sisters' incredulous looks, she hurriedly continued, "As magical beings it's unlikely that either of you owned the place. Maybe your mentor used it as a base to teach you, away from the more experienced Cupids, the same way that Cole's mom used it as a sanctuary from the Underworld, until he learned to embrace his demonic side. Of course, you both used it at different times."

"Maybe that's true Piper, and that explains why Coop knew about the chalet to begin with. But Coop, you told me that you had taken me there before. That never happened. There's no way that I could forget you taking me there." Memories of a happy time at the chalet with Cole flooded Phoebe's mind before she felt the familiar stab in her heart as she also remembered his deceit, and the pain he would put her through later."I mean, you saw how strongly I reacted, just seeing that place again."

"I know it was strange of me to say that. And now looking back, I can't really remember when I took you there. But in that moment, I really felt we had been there together. It was like that the spot was special to the both of us, because it held good memories for us as a couple. It was another strong feeling rather than an actual memory I guess."

A thought suddenly struck him. "It's like the movie as well. I know you were upset about that too, Phoebe. I mean something drew me to it at the video store, and then, when we were arguing, something told me I had been in it. But now, if I really think hard, I honestly don't recall even watching _Kill it Before it Dies_."

Coop looked at the sisters in turn, pleading with them to believe him. "I know this seems farfetched, but I really can't explain it in any other way."

Piper and Phoebe exchanged glances. They knew that something odd was going on. Coop wasn't trying to be difficult, because the truth spell was still in effect, and would have pulled the whole truth from him, whether he liked it or not. Coop's confusion was real. It was almost like something or someone was altering his memories.

Having missed the look shared between her sisters, Paige continued with the questioning. "Maybe you should tell us about your charges Coop? How many have you had?"

Coop stopped pacing, and slumped back down in an armchair. He opened his mouth to answer, but then shut it and scratched his head. He tried again, "Well I feel like I've had millions, but other than Phoebe, I can only remember one in detail."

"Only one?" exclaimed Phoebe. "But the other Cupid I met, the one we saved from Drazi, he remembered every single one of his charges, and their love story. How can you forget them all apart for this one? What makes her so special anyway? Did you love her too?" The last part was initially meant as a joke, but with Phoebe's heightened emotions coming into play, it came out in an extremely envious tone.

"No of course I didn't. And there really isn't anything spectacular about her. She was a mortal, and her husband was a soldier who died in Iraq four years ago. I helped her move on from the pain, and open up to the idea of finding a new love. It took almost a year, but she did end up in a stable relationship with a widower, who understood her pain after losing his own wife to illness." Coop shrugged, "It's a good story, and I was so grateful that I could make a difference in her life, but there's no reason that I should remember her story over everyone else's."

He looked up at Phoebe forlornly, "I think you were right all along, Phoebe. There _is _something wrong with me. Why can't I remember anything? Why do these other memories, that you say couldn't have happened, feel so real to me? The only clear memory I have, apart from that of that charge, is knowing that I desperately wanted to help you find love, after everything you've been through. The Elders came to me with the idea, but it was so important for me that I succeed. But look what I've done! I've just made everything worse. Someone must be using me to get to you. I'm really sorry! I had no idea!"

Coop buried his head in his hands in real desolation. The Charmed Ones looked at one another, none of them with any clue as to what to say. Piper looked at Phoebe, gesturing for her to do something to break the ice. Obviously Coop had no idea what was happening, and therefore, shouldn't feel so responsible.

Phoebe followed Piper's gaze to Coop. She no longer blamed him for his behaviour. Clearly there was something going on, and Phoebe knew it had to be evil. Suddenly, a realisation dawned upon her. How could she have not seen it before? It was the only explanation!

"Guys, I think I know what is going on," Phoebe started warily, looking around her, as if someone was watching them, waiting to pop out. "There's only one possibility. The reason Coop is getting these weird memories is…" Her sisters and Coop stared at her expectantly.

Phoebe took a deep breath before continuing, "The reason that Coop is having memories which aren't his own, and the reason that I couldn't find Cole in Limbo, is that Cole is trying to possess Coop!"

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**Two chapters in three days! *Gasp* I know it may have been frustrating to not know what was happening with Coop for a while, so hopefully you now have some more information! I will post the next chapter up soon too, because after that I'm going away for a week, and won't be able to update... For those asking about Cole, he will make an appearance of some sort in Chapter 10, so be patient ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks so much to Jba008, Ashley (), BelovedSlayer, HalliwellMB, and Marie Nomad for reviewing :D **

**Jba008: I also hated the way they got rid of Cole, just because Julian McMahon had to leave the show... He deserved more!**

**Ashley (): Cole actually calls his plane "a nasty limbo", and since Piper's soul went there after being attacked by the Thorn Demons, I don't see it as being a plane only for demons... Besides, from what we know, vanquished demons go to the Wasteland, and then to some realm of hell... And while Piper said that he was there to pay penance for his evil sins, he never actually tried to use Phoebe's love for him to turn her evil (he was possessed remember?)... I know that Limbo in 'Enter the Demon' was a lot different, but even in 'The Courtship of Wyatt's Father' the ghostly plane they were on seemed to be another limbo... So there seems to be many interpretations... That's probably where the confusion is... That's why my opinion is that Cole is in Limbo, but that's just how I feel... I really wish Charmed had developed Cole's storyline better, even if it was just for a few episodes of season 7 or 8!**

**BelovedSlayer, HalliwellMB, and Marie Nomad: I am trying to keep the story as canon as possible, so I will be writing Cole's character as close to my interpretation of him from the show... There is still a way to go in this story, so don't hate me yet!**

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As her sisters began firing questions at her, Phoebe locked eyes with Coop. He looked so miserable, and her revelation hadn't helped him at all. She would have to tell him later about the many times she and her sisters had been possessed by evil beings. They had done much worse before being saved than he had. He hadn't caused any trouble yet, apart from upsetting her a few times, and she was determined to save him. Coop was the love of her life, and no one, not even Cole would ruin her future.

"Phoebe?" Piper's voice broke through her reverie. Phoebe turned to see everyone staring at her questioningly.

"Sorry, I spaced out a little," she apologised. "What did you say?"

"We asked how that was possible. How could Cole possess Coop?" Paige explained.

"Well think about it guys. He's always found a way to come back into my life, and he's always been really powerful. He killed the Triad when he was still Belthazor. He even escaped the Wasteland, coming back stronger than ever. Just because we haven't heard from him in a while doesn't mean he wasn't trying to find a way to get out!" Phoebe shook as she spoke, hardly believing it herself, that her former lover was plaguing her again.

"But Phoebe, he helped me last year," Piper said confusedly. "Why would he do that? If he wanted to hurt us he would have let me die, and let Leo go Up There to be an Elder again."

"Maybe he wanted to get you out of Limbo quickly, Piper. Maybe you were interrupting his plan." Paige agreed with Phoebe. In her experience, whenever there was something really evil going on, Cole was never far behind. "How do we know that he wasn't working with Dumain to turn Billie against us? Doesn't it seem awfully convenient that Coop has only been acting weird now? Maybe the Ultimate Power was just a distraction, so we wouldn't notice when he escaped from Limbo!"

"Paige could be right!" Phoebe exclaimed. "All the pieces are falling into place now!"

"Look guys," Piper tried reasoning, "I know Cole has done some pretty evil stuff before. And I know that he has kept reappearing when we least expect it but…" realising what she was saying she conceded. "Okay, so maybe he is back."

"Piper? I'm home!" called a voice from upstairs. All four occupants of the living room turned their heads to see Leo walking down the stairs. "Magic School was crazy! Billie and Christy really did a number on it. I started reorganising it but… Oh hi everyone," Leo smiled, noticing their visitors. "What's going on?"

"Cole's back, Leo," Piper said grimly. "He's trying to possess Coop."

"What? Are you sure?" Leo looked around anxiously, as if Cole was going to pop out from behind a couch and start attacking them.

"It definitely looks that way," Piper said.

"Did you tell them about last year? How he helped us?" Leo asked. Piper had told him about their unexpected assistance, and for that he was eternally grateful to Cole. _'That wouldn't stop me from protecting the girls from Cole's evil plans though,'_ Leo thought to himself.

"Yes she did. Thanks for sharing by the way," Paige glared at Leo, who held his hands up in surrender. "But Coop's been having these weird memories, and there doesn't seem to be any other explanation. The question is what do we do now?"

"Well we have the vanquishing potion ready," Phoebe said getting up. "All we need is some of his flesh, which I will be happy to slice up. Now that we know his plan, he'll be making an appearance anytime now. We have to be ready."

Piper got up too, "I'm going to get the crystals. Who knows what kind of power he has now. It can't hurt to be prepared. We still remember the spell we used against the Source right?"

"Yes," Paige nodded while standing up. "And I have some extra potions I've been working on in case of an emergency." Looking at her sisters with a weak grin, she said, "I think this counts."

"Leo, I think you should take the boys to Magic School," said Piper, with worry. "I don't want them around here if it comes down to a fight. And you should stay up there too. Remember, I only just got you back, I can't afford to lose you again."

"Piper..." Leo protested, but Piper was having none of it.

"Leo, I'm serious. We don't know what Cole is capable of. You won't be helping, and I can't be worried about you getting hurt, we all need to be at the top of our game."

Nodding in surrender, Leo kissed Piper, and whispered "I love you," in her ear. He then headed back upstairs to get Wyatt and Chris, before leaving for Magic School.

The sisters split up to prepare their arsenal for the impending battle. As Phoebe was about to exit the living room, she noticed Coop still rooted to his place. He really hadn't said anything since she announced her theory.

"Coop?" she called. As there was no response, she walked over to him and knelt in front of him. "Coop? Are you okay?" she asked cautiously, looking up at him.

"Phoebe," he whispered hoarsely, "I'm so sorry. What have I done?"

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have stopped it. You couldn't have stopped _him_. Believe me."

"But Phoebe, I should have known, I should have sensed something was wrong. I should have told you about it before. You could have got seriously hurt. You still can get hurt, and your sisters too."

"Coop, my sisters and I have all been possessed before. Demons, ghosts, you name it. None of us could control any of them, and we never blamed each other. This is not your fault. It's an occupational hazard of being around us. I should be apologising to you. I mean it is _my_ ex-husband from hell who's trying to possess you." Phoebe looked away sadly, before she turned to Coop with determination in her eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway. Nothing's going to happen to us, and nothing is going to happen to you. We will stop Cole, and nothing, not even he, can keep us apart."

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** I know that not too much happened in this chapter, it was more about the levels of emotions of each of the sisters... But the next one is a big one! Unfortunately I may not update it for a week since I am going to Malaysia tomorrow night, and I won't have internet access :( If I can I will try to put it up tomorrow night, but I can't make any promises...**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/n: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... I just got back from my holiday this morning, and I couldn't make you guys wait any longer! Here it is, Chapter 10! Thanks so much to HalliwellMB, Joleca, lizardmomma, and BelovedSlayer for your reviews for Chapter 9. I was planning to put Chapter 10 up before I left, but there really wasn't any time...**

**Joleca: Don't worry about not reviewing for a while, I know that everyone is busy with school, or work and other activities... That being said, I do love hearing from you :D Especially your thoughts on the last chapter... I feel the exact same way you did and I found it very interesting that you brought up those particular examples... It was quite... prophetic ;) You'll just have to wait and see what happens :)**

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The sisters had gathered their weapons, and were ready to face Cole. Phoebe focused on her rage over the fact that he was trying to possess Coop, ruining her life once more, and ignored her apprehension about facing him again after so long. She just couldn't think about that right now. Looking at Coop, she wished he didn't have to be here, but since he was Cole's vessel, the easiest way to summon Cole would be through Coop.

"Are we ready?" asked Paige. She had decided that Cole was just going to be that unwanted visitor they would have to deal with every now and then. He had proved over and over that he would never truly go away. She couldn't believe that after vanquishing him in the alternate reality, he had popped up again in their lives. She now knew that even this vanquish was probably not going to be permanent, but hoped at least it would last for another three years.

"We have the potions, the vanquishing spell, a knife for his flesh, and the crystal cage. I also copied down the summoning spell in case he doesn't come on his own. I think we're ready." Piper didn't know what to expect. Cole had been such a complicated part of their lives. From the time he first entered their lives, posing as an ADA to try and kill them, he had switched between good and evil so many times that she was sure even he had lost track. But last time, when she saw him in Limbo, he really seemed like he had accepted his fate. He still had that annoying condescending smirk, but she had felt he was truly good, and he had said he just wanted Phoebe to believe in true love again. So why would he try to take away the true love she had found in Coop? All she hoped was that they would be ready for whatever he could throw at them. There was no telling what powers he may have, but they had become a lot stronger too. They had faced great evil in Zankou, and they had defeated the Triad. They were all settling down, and finally finding that perfect balance between magic and their regular lives, and Piper would be damned if she let Cole wreck that happiness.

"Okay let's do this," Phoebe announced. She walked over to Coop, her face softening. "Are you ready Coop?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, in a defeated tone.

"I love you," Phoebe smiled, as she leaned in for a kiss. She hadn't even touched him since she tried to blow him up hours ago. She had been afraid, not knowing who he was. However, now she knew he needed her love, to remind him that they were worth fighting for. As she pressed her lips against his she was suddenly pulled into a premonition.

_[Flashback- 7x 16- The Seven Year Witch]_

_Standing in Magic School, Drake becomes a ghost, and looks at Cole saying, "Okay that was interesting. Ashes to ashes, huh?"_

_Cole gives a small smile, "__If it's any consolation, you did all that I asked for. You saved Phoebe."_

"_I did more than that, Buddy. I fell in love with her." Drake looks at Cole waiting for an outburst that doesn't come._

_Cole shrugs unsurprised, "Understandably." He gives Drake a friendly nod, which is returned wholeheartedly._

"_Farewell my friend." Drake looks up as he is surrounded in lights, before he finally disappears. Cole looks up longingly, wishing he could escape his prison, before he disappears himself. _

_A bystander to this scene Phoebe is shocked that Cole not only tried to help her find love through saving Piper and Leo, but he also sent Drake to her in exchange for setting him up with a soul. She remembered how Drake had helped her trust in love again, and how his enthusiasm for life had pulled her out of her desperate quest to find a shortcut to the daughter she had foreseen. Cole really had cared about her future, whether he would be a part of it or not. She almost felt sorry for him, before remembering what was happening in the present. As she watched him disappear, she imagined it was back to the manor's living room, supposing he couldn't leave it for very long. She felt herself being pulled with him, but to her surprise, instead of the manor, she was standing with him on top of the Golden Gate Bridge._

"_Hello?" Cole called out, confusedly. "Who brought me here? Not that I'm complaining." He muttered the last part ruefully, wishing he could leave the manor more often. A shower of orbs appeared in front of him, materialising into a group of Elders. Cole stepped back fearfully. Despite his loathing for his eternal damnation, he knew there could be much worse punishment for all of his sins, and if anyone, these were the beings who could hand them out. Maybe he shouldn't have interfered in their plan to bring Leo back into the fold. _'But it was for Phoebe,'_ he reminded himself. __If it would help her, he would take what's coming to him. He lifted his head high, and waited in anticipation._

_One Elder steps forward, his arms spread open, bellowing "Cole Turner. You have brought Piper and Leo together."_

_Before he could continue, Cole interrupted, "Look, I'm sorry your plan was ruined, but Piper and Leo were meant to be together, and their break up would have prevented Phoebe from ever believing in love again. I would have thought your side would want their strongest fighters to be happy. Nevertheless, I accept whatever punishment you're going to give me."_

_The Elders exchanged a glance, before another stepped forward. "We are not here to punish you, but interrupt us again, and we may change our minds." At Cole's confused look, the Elder continued, "Your actions have proven that you care for Phoebe, and about love itself. We have decided to give you a chance to prove yourself, a second chance, if you will."_

_Phoebe felt as confused as Cole looked. A second chance? The Elders were behind this? Before she could continue her thoughts, she felt herself being pulled into another scene. This time she was in an apartment she didn't recognise. She saw Cole again, this time with a blonde haired woman. Maybe he got a second chance at love?_

"_Thank you Cole, for everything," the woman pulled Cole into a hug, which he returned, smiling broadly. "Even though I will always love James, I know there is space for Lucas in my heart too."_

"_That's right, Angela," Cole said, pulling back from her, to look her in the eyes. "And don't forget, James would want you to be happy, even if he can't be here with you. Believe me, I know all about that, loving someone means their happiness is your happiness." _

_Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Cole looked at 'Angela', winking, before he vanished._

_It was then that Phoebe noticed the Marine medals that were scattered throughout the apartment. There was also a large photograph of the woman, Angela, with a soldier, both of them grinning widely. She watched as a man entered, and gave Angela a passionate kiss which she returned. As they pulled away, Phoebe noticed the man's face. He was not the man from the photograph, the Marine. So Cole had helped this woman overcome the loss of her Marine husband, and find new love? That was the second chance? Phoebe furrowed her eyebrows, feeling like she was missing something obvious. Why was that story familiar? As she pondered that thought, she found herself back on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, with Cole and the Elders._

"_He's ready," commented an Elder. Behind her there was a mix of agreement and annoyance. All the Elders, even the ones with angry faces, raised their arms, and covered Cole with a bright glow. The light was so bright, that Phoebe had to shield her eyes. When she was finally able to lower her arm, she was shocked to be staring at none other than Coop._

_[End flashback] _

Whisked away, back to the present, Phoebe found herself looking at Coop once more, this time in the manor.

"What is it Phoebe?" Coop asked in concern. "What did you see?"

Phoebe looked back at Coop, her vision and its implications fresh in her mind, and then looked at her sisters. All she could say was, "We may have a problem."

* * *

**Ooh... Finally some new information! ;) What can this mean?**

**I hope you guys could follow the premonition sequence... I wasn't quite sure how to write it so let me know if writing it differently would have made it better... The first part was actually from Charmed, but obviously I made up the rest... I hope it wasn't too confusing that I included Phoebe's thoughts during the actual premonition, but I wanted you to know how she feels as she tries to piece together this new information, rather than just having her tell Piper and Paige... **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks BelovedSlayer, Marie Nomad, HalliwellMB, and lizardmomma for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the premonitions :) **

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After Phoebe had explained her visions, as best as she could, to her sisters, they knew they needed some answers. The only people who seemed to know what was going on were the Elders. Therefore, despite the Charmed Ones' rocky relationship with the Powers That Be, the girls were getting ready to summon one of the Elders down, to explain what was going on. They could just call one down, but after their past encounters, Paige had thought it would be best to summon them with a spell.

"I still don't understand." Coop said, turning to Phoebe, as she and Piper waited for Paige to perfect the spell. "You saw Cole talking to Drake about his plan to make you believe in love again. Then you saw the Elders telling Cole to prove himself? Then you saw what exactly?"

"I told you, I'm not really sure about the next part. I saw a woman thanking Cole, and then a man came in to hug her? And then the Elders said Cole was 'ready', before turning him into you. Or at least someone who looked exactly like you." Phoebe massaged her temples. She barely knew what happened herself, and it was frustrating that Coop was asking her to repeat her explanation, when she couldn't provide the answers he was looking for.

"Well can you describe the people? Do you remember anything about them?" Coop pressed.

"I don't know, Coop," Phoebe snapped, "All I can remember is that the woman was named Angela, and that she was talking about a James, and another guy... I don't remember his name though."

"Was it Lucas?" Coop asked, a funny look crossing his face.

"Maybe," Phoebe replied, racking her brains, trying to remember exactly what she had overheard. "Why? Who's Lucas?"

"You know how I was telling you about my charge, the only one I can remember?" Coop watched Phoebe nod before finishing his thought, "Well her name was Angela, and her new boyfriend's name was Lucas. James was the husband she lost in Iraq."

"Oh my god! Her apartment had a photograph with her and a Marine. I knew the story rang a bell! Okay, that does it. We need to talk to the Elders now!"

Just as Phoebe finished her sentence, Paige came rushing in, clutching a piece of paper in her hand. "I've got it! The spell is done." Piper and Phoebe gathered around her, and read the spell, _"Magic forces white to white, reaching out through space and light, be they far or be they near, please bring us an Elder here."_ It was fitting that the spell to call an Elder was a modified version of the one they had used to summon Cole himself, considering they were apparently working together now.

A shower of orbs filled the room materialising into one of the Elders from Phoebe's vision. The Elder looked around startled, before settling her eyes on Piper.

"Blessed be, Charmed Ones. I am surprised to hear from you, especially at such a late hour." Piper's eyes flickered to the grandfather clock, registering that it was actually close to 2 am.

"Is there a problem? How is Billie?" the Elder asked, looking at Paige. Paige opened her mouth to answer the Elder, before Phoebe jumped in first.

"Look, we're sorry about the time, but we didn't bring you down here for chit-chat. We're looking for answers," Phoebe said firmly. "What did you do to Cole? We know that he was sentenced to eternity in Limbo, and we know that you have something to do with him escaping. What's going on?"

"Ah, Cole Turner," sighed the Elder. "We believed you wouldn't discover the truth, but we must have underestimated your love."

"Oh no," Phoebe shook her head adamantly. "I don't love him. I hate him. I loathe him with every fibre of my being. I..."

"You love him," finished the Elder. "He is your true love, and you are destined to be together, despite all the obstacles you have faced. We tried to deny your love at first, but there are some things that transcend even our will."

"So you let him out of Limbo because you think that evil low life is 'destined' to be with Phoebe?"spat Paige, using air quotes around the word 'destined'. "When have you ever cared about our love lives anyway? You practically wrenched Piper and Leo apart."

"That was a test, Paige," explained the Elder calmly. "A fair way to test whether Leo was more strongly tied to his family, or the Greater Good. If you remember correctly, it was I that gave you the hope that he could be saved, and he was. It was never meant to be swayed to give one side the advantage."

Piper's features softened as she realised this was indeed the Elder that had come to them explaining the test. Without her push they would have had no idea of how to find Leo. She coloured a little as she remembered how rude she had been to this Elder who was just trying to help. "I'm sorry for how I acted that day, but..." she began.

"Your anger was understandable, and not held against you." The Elder smiled at Piper, "Many of the Elders have presided over good magic for so long that their memories of their human lives have diminished significantly. They have forgotten human love, the most basic of emotions. Others of us remember clearly, and we can see how our rules have made us seem overbearing to you. Our intention has always been to maintain order, and not punish you for being witches. That is why many of us supported the second chance given to Cole Turner. In fact it was his actions to save Piper and Leo's love that sparked our forgiveness."

"You mean you were happy that he interfered in your test?" Piper asked in surprise. "You didn't try to punish him for it?"

"Many of us wanted to," admitted the Elder. "But after seeing how important it was to him that Phoebe did not give up on love, some of us saw the good in him. The fact that he saved the soul of the demon, Drake, just so that he could enter your lives, and bring Phoebe happiness, and the fact that he had accepted his own fate without love, as long as she was not sharing it, demonstrated the depth of his love. A truly evil being could not display such strong emotions. His sacrifices for the Greater Good in the past were also considered, as we realised how unfairly he had been treated when the original judgement was delivered."

"Excuse me?" Paige glared at the Elder, unable to contain herself. Had the Elders completely lost their minds? "What sacrifices? Cole has never been anything but evil. How many innocents has he killed? How much pain has he caused? We had him trapped, and you just let him out? Because you think he was _good_?"

"Calm down, Paige," hissed Piper.

"Paige, there are many things that the three of you do not understand. Your actions in the past were fuelled only by what you knew, and we Elders, regrettably, saw no reason to correct your misconceptions. Your hatred of Cole suited us fine, and, at the time, we felt it would benefit the Greater Good if the world was rid of Cole Turner. However, I think it is now time for you to know the truth. It is time for all to be revealed."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks so much HalliwellMB, you were my only review of that chapter! Things are heating up in the Halliwell Manor now!**

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Still unable to comprehend what the Elder had been telling them, the Charmed Ones, looked at one another, each silently trying to figure out this 'truth', that they had apparently been unaware of for so long.

"The truth is that since he fell in love with you for the first time, he chose the side of good, and he has never intentionally wavered from his love, or his decision," explained the Elder.

"That's impossible," spluttered out Phoebe. "He has switched sides so quickly, and so many times. How could you not have seen that? He killed that innocent, when he returned to his precious Brotherhood of the Thorn, he attacked us, for heaven's sake, he was the Source of All Evil!"

"Phoebe, you know that he killed that witch because the leader of the Brotherhood cast a spell. He told you this, and you forgave him. Cole was even willing to give up his father's soul in order to remain good. The leader, Raynor, had to force his hand through powerful dark magic. We do not condone his actions, but we cannot blame him for her death." The Elder paused, to let her words sink in.

Phoebe was shocked. She knew what Cole had told her, about being under a spell, and she had forgiven him as he had not killed the witch willingly. However, he had never told her that he had passed up the opportunity to protect his father's soul, in favour of not killing her, and remaining good.

"As for becoming the Source, Cole tried valiantly to spare you the pain of knowing, but I think he unknowingly caused you more pain." The Elder threw Phoebe a sympathetic glance.

"The pain of knowing?" Phoebe repeated. "The pain of knowing what?"

"You see, Cole never actually _became_ the Source, he was simply possessed by the Source's powers," replied the Elder.

"What's the difference? He turned evil, and tried to kill us," Paige said, clearly unimpressed.

"Cole had no choice, no control over his actions. The Seer tricked him into accepting the Hollow, in order to save the three of you from the original Source. He did protect you, by absorbing the Source's powers, allowing you to finally vanquish him." The Elder looked at each sister in turn, challenging them to deny the fact that without Cole, they would have all died at the Source's hands. "However, what none of you, including Cole, knew was that the powers of the Source, having nowhere else to go, remained within Cole."

"The void," Phoebe whispered.

"Exactly," nodded the Elder. "The Seer knew that the powers would fill the void left when you vanquished Cole's demonic half, Belthazor. The powers consumed Cole, and despite how desperately he fought, he could not overpower them. The power controlled him, and eventually, Cole was merely a prisoner in his own body."

All three sisters gasped, trying to take in the Elder's words.

"Oh my god," a horrified Piper exclaimed. She had no idea what Cole was going through. She now wished she hadn't been so quick to condemn him. "But, when I went to Limbo, and accused him of ruining Phoebe's life by becoming the Source, he laughed it off. As if it was his mistake. Why didn't he tell me?"

"Cole wasn't looking for your sympathy, Piper, or your help in trying to escape. In any case, he thought you would see it as an attempt to manipulate you, or if you did believe him, he thought it would unnecessarily cause pain for you and your sisters. All he wanted was to help you, not reopen old wounds. In fact, that gave him more 'points', if you will, and further influenced our decision. This was also why he didn't tell you about being possessed by the Source when he escaped the Wasteland." The Elder looked at Phoebe, knowingly, seeing that the middle Halliwell sister had grasped the reason for Cole's silence.

"He thought that telling us would have hurt us. He thought I would have blamed myself for not trying to save him, and he wanted to keep that from me for as long as he could. He was even going to leave San Francisco to make me happy, remember? But, once he learnt that I still loved him, from that spell that Paige cast, he thought that if he chased me for long enough, I would eventually forgive him." Phoebe closed her eyes, and put her head in her hands. "He tried to be good, and tried to help people, thinking that would make me believe that he was good, without having to tell me that he was never evil. But I kept pushing him away, so many times that it made him crazy. It all makes sense now."

"Phoebe, you acted with what information you knew," comforted the Elder. "You believed he was evil, and out of fear of his new powers, we Elders were hoping that you would vanquish him in some way. We let your anger build because we thought that would motivate you. We were wrong, just as we were in trying to take Leo away before the Ultimate Battle. We thought we were acting for the Greater Good. But we were wrong. Once we realised, we tried to correct our error."

"How?" Paige asked warily. She still couldn't get over the fact that Cole had been good. She, in particular, had been so cruel to him. At the time she thought it was cruelty that he deserved, but now she wasn't so sure.

"After Cole helped Piper and Leo's love, we gave him a test. He was sent to help a witch find love again, after losing her husband." The Elder beamed at them, "He did tremendously, opening her heart again, well before we expected. As a reward we gave Cole a second chance, and we hope you do too."

"I still don't understand," Phoebe said, puzzled, "What was Cole's second chance?"

The Elder smiled, looking at Coop, who had been silent for this whole exchange. "He has done well to bring love back into your life, Phoebe, as he was sent to do. But I do believe that your nephews from the future have already revealed that."

"Wait what?" Phoebe said, frowning. She followed the Elder's gaze to Coop. "What does Coop have to do with Cole's second chance? Unless... Are you saying that... Coop is Cole?"

"Well of course." This time it was the Elder who was perplexed. "I thought you knew, and that was why you sent for me."

"Uh no... But how? And the truth spell said... I thought..." Phoebe stumbled over her words, her hands gesturing wildly in the air. Her sisters were just as stumped, gaping at the Elder. Clearly, there were still many secrets left to be revealed.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I don't own Charmed, or any of its characters... Thanks to HalliwellMB, lizardmomma, and BelovedSlayer for your really encouraging reviews... Sorry I didn't update faster, but I just started uni again, and it's really busy! As always I will try to update asap, but forgive me if I go back to once a week updates because some weeks will be really hectic!**

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Still rocked by the thought that Coop was indeed Cole, despite their truth spell, the Charmed Ones were stunned into silence.

"Um, excuse me?" Coop cleared his throat. "I'm definitely not Cole. I mean, I think I would know if I was, but I'm not."

The Elder shook her head at him, smiling patiently. "Cole was not just given a second chance at life, he was given a second chance with you, Phoebe. We thought we owed the two of you. Thus, we sent him to you in the form of a Cupid, hoping that your true love would prevail once more, and bring you together. However, to give you two the best chance, we thought it would be best to erase Cole's memory, and give him a new form- your form, Coop. That's why you don't remember your life as Cole."

Coop stared hard at the Elder before accepting her words. "You miscalculated," he said finally. "I have had Cole's memories. They have been seeping through unconsciously." He turned to Phoebe, "That's why I know about your experiences with Cole, because I experienced them too. I was him."

Piper turned to the Elder. "Why didn't you just tell us that Cole never turned evil? That he was just possessed? We may have accepted him back then."

The Elder shook her head again. "Cole begged us not to tell you of the past. As I mentioned before, he didn't want you to feel responsible for his fate. Also, the terms of the test were that Cole was not allowed to make contact with any of you. He believed that passing the test would make him a full time Cupid. He wanted to repay our forgiveness by spreading love to others, despite not being able to experience it himself. That's why he didn't want you to know he was alive. He thought that telling you about his past may cause you to track him, violating the terms of our agreement. He thought that if you found him, he would no longer be able to be a Cupid, and that he would be sent back to Limbo."

"But why wipe his memory?" Paige asked. "I'm sure that once he knew your plan was to send him to Phoebe, he would have told us the truth. He loves her, and this time, surely he would have done anything to be with her again? Why put them through this pain of uncertainty, and suspicion?"

"We didn't know," the Elder shrugged apologetically. "We didn't think that he would get his memories back. I'm sorry that happened, and that you were all confused, and angered by it. The plan was for neither of you to ever know that it was Cole. We thought erasing his memories would be best, as it would give the both of you a fresh start."

The Elder turned to Phoebe saying, "If we had kept our word to Cole, and not told you about the past, you would have never been able to accept him back into your life. You wouldn't have given yourself the chance to fall back in love with him."

She then looked at Coop, with the same apologetic expression, "And if you had kept your memories, it would have caused you pain to be around Phoebe, unable to tell her who you really were in fear of her reaction. Once we admitted to ourselves that you were destined to be together, we didn't want your history to get in the way of your future. His new identity was also meant to prevent humans and demons with a vendetta against Cole from coming after him. His demon half was vanquished again, but this time his Cupid powers should fill the void. He won't be as susceptible to possession this time, but we didn't want to risk your relationship by allowing evil influences to chase him again. We took a page out of your book," she said, gesturing to the sisters, "giving him a new appearance, and alias, hoping that it would provide the peace that you yourselves were searching for last year. We really believed that this would lead to the 'happily ever after' you have been desperately searching for, Phoebe. We thought that once you found each other, your romance will blossom once more, without the magical distractions this time. We never imagined that you would resist the pull, because of the rules. After all," she said dryly, "the Charmed Ones are not known for abiding by our rules."

Piper rolled her eyes at the pointed comment, directed mostly at her. Paige on the other hand, did her best to cover a smile. Despite their tumultuous relationship with the Elders, the forthright nature of this one was refreshing, and setting her at ease. Maybe there was hope for them yet.

"As Wyatt and Chris from the future mentioned, this is not a forbidden romance. Not all of the Elders are in favour of this relationship, but the majority have passed the motion, sanctioning it." The Elder suddenly looked up, hearing the jingling that signified that she was required to return Up There. "I'm really sorry for the confusion we have caused, but it really was our intention to help. I do hate to leave after loading you with so much information, but I must return. If you have further questions, please summon me again. You can just call this time, a spell is not necessary. I will respond if I am able. Blessed be."

As the Elder dissolved in a swirl of orbs, the manor was left in silence. Piper was the first to react, enveloping Phoebe in a hug. Coop and Paige were still frozen in shock.

"Phoebe, I know that it's a lot to take in. Are you okay?" Piper asked.

Phoebe pulled away from Piper, and stood in silence, her sisters and Coop looking at her intently. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. She looked at Piper, and then Paige, before finally locking eyes with Coop, who she now knew to be Cole. Cole, the man she had loved like no other. Cole, the man that she had felt most safe with, until he had finally betrayed her, or so she had thought. He had gone through so much, they both had.

There were many things she wanted to say, many questions she wanted to ask. Instead she smiled sadly, and said a simple, "No," before silently walking past her bewildered sisters, and her hurt boyfriend. She walked up the stairs to her old room, which was now Billie's room. Curling up on the bed, she did as she did four years ago, and cried herself to sleep over the only man to have ever held power over her- Cole.

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** I hope this chapter cleared everything up about Cole/Coop for you guys... Phoebe obviously has a lot to think about ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks so much to my great reviewers HalliwellMB, lizardmomma, Joleca, BelovedSlayer, and Marie Nomad! Again, I wish I could have updated sooner, but I'm doing the best I can :) **

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Paige rubbed the sleep from her bleary eyes, as she stumbled out of her room. It was 8 o'clock in the morning, and she had barely had 2 hours sleep. After Phoebe had stormed out, Piper and Paige tried to console the devastated Cupid left in their living room. They tried to tell him how Phoebe was just shocked, as they all were, and that if he gave her some time she would come to her senses. However, Coop seemed to be on the same page as Phoebe. Paige shook her head to herself as she remembered how stubborn he was being.

_Paige watched as Phoebe left, practically in tears. She turned to Coop, in sympathy, which only deepened once she saw the miserable look on his face._

_Piper was thinking on the same lines as Paige. Finding out about Cole's innocence had given her new perspective on those troublesome years, and she now felt even more indebted to him than she did when he saved her relationship. She knew her sister was upset, but she could see how much the news was affecting Coop as well._

_Piper tried to smile at Coop, laying a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "Just give her some time, Coop. You saw how much she loved Cole when you went into her memories. It messed her up pretty bad. And now she finds out that he was never evil? It's a lot to handle. But she will handle it, eventually. She loves you, and she loved Cole. I still can't get my head around how you're the same person! Anyway, her love will overcome all the doubts she's having, and she'll come back to you."_

"_No Piper. She's right to be upset. I put you all in danger. I really didn't know what, or rather _who_, I was. I didn't mean to hurt her. I mean I wish I knew what Cole was planning to do, but I don't. I can't apologise for whatever it is if I don't even know myself?" Coop's shoulders slumped._

"_Um Coop?" Paige said gently, "I don't think Cole was up to anything. The Elders said he had no idea that Phoebe would be his assignment. You have nothing to be sorry for." She couldn't believe that Coop didn't trust himself when even she had trust in Cole again. _

"_We can't be sure of that. I think maybe it's just better this way. Maybe we just weren't meant to be." A single tear slid down Coop's cheek, as he hearted away._

He was just as stubborn as she was. They were perfect for each other. After trying to call Coop back for 10 minutes, she and Piper had discussed their own feelings about the matter. Of course they had agreed that it was Phoebe's choice on how to proceed from this point, but Paige had surprised Piper by saying how guilty she felt for her actions towards Cole. It was no secret that she had despised him. After all he had tried to kill her several times. But, after talking to Billie, and finding out how Dumain had brainwashed her and Christy, causing them to turn on the Charmed Ones, as well as remembering the number of times she and her sisters had been possessed, Paige realised how powerful the pull of evil can be. Now that she had heard that this had all begun when Cole had tried to save the three of them, by taking in the Hollow, only to be possessed, she could no longer blame Cole alone for his actions. She had simply told Piper that she wished that they had all tried to understand him a bit better. Piper had agreed, and together they decided that, if Phoebe was to get back together with him, that they would apologise to him, and welcome him back to the family with open arms. It was a big step for them, to forgive someone whose actions had threatened them so many times, especially when Piper had to worry about her two sons, and Paige had to worry about her mortal husband. However, both now knew that Cole was the love of Phoebe's life, and they couldn't help but think that if it was Leo or Henry in his place, that they too would want the support of their sisters.

With that in mind, they had gone to check on Phoebe. One look at her tear-stained face, sleeping face was enough to tell them that they couldn't just leave her alone for the night. So they had taken it in turns to stay with her. First it had been Paige to sit on the bed with Phoebe, stroking her hair, and comforting her when she had woken up with bouts of weeping. Finally Piper had come to relieve her, so Paige was able to catch a little sleep. Unfortunately, habit had awoken her an hour earlier than when she was needed again.

She and Piper had been happy to let Phoebe sleep, however, they had decided that at 9 o'clock, they would wake her up and talk to her. Unable to get back to sleep, Paige decided to make three cups of strong coffee, knowing that they would need it after the night they had. She crossed the landing to the stairs, and took one step before she heard shouting. Racing down the stairs, wary of an unexpected demon attack, Paige finally reached the ground floor, and rushed into the kitchen, ready to orb. To her surprise it was just Phoebe and Piper yelling at each other.

"What's going on," Paige asked confused. She looked between her sisters, noticing their furious expressions, and Phoebe tightly holding a wooden spoon over a giant pot.

"Paige, can you believe that Piper threw out the Belthazor vanquishing potion? Now I have to make it again!" Phoebe fumed, throwing a disparaging glare at her older sister.

Paige looked at her in surprise. She knew Phoebe was upset, but didn't think that she would still be angry at Coop, after everything they had heard the previous night. "Um, Phoebe? Sweetie? There is no more Belthazor," she said gently. "It's just Cole, the human now. Besides, he's not evil anymore, you don't need to vanquish him."

Phoebe stared at her like she had grown two heads. "Paige? How can you of all people think Cole is _good_? Don't you remember everything he's done? Everyone that he's hurt? God, you're just as bad as Piper."

Phoebe took a herb and dropped it into the pot. However, to her frustration, it blew up before it made it into the potion. "PIPER! Will you stop doing that!" Phoebe yelled.

"Not until you listen to us!" Piper shouted back.

Paige was beginning to understand what had been happening while she was asleep. She watched Phoebe attempt to add the herb again, only to see it blow up again.

"You hurt him so badly last night, Phoebe!" Piper said, lowering her voice, but only slightly. "You should have seen the pain he felt. You don't want to do this."

"His pain?" snapped Phoebe, "What about mine? Piper! Stop it!"

"Phoebe," Paige tried to calm her sister down. "I know you're upset. But Cole never meant to hurt you. He was possessed remember? And Coop? Well, Coop doesn't even know what happened. We know how hard it was to lose Cole before. You don't want to do it again."

"He should have told me," argued Phoebe. "Why didn't he try harder? Surely if Cole loved me so much, he would have found a way."

"Come on, Phoebe," Piper raised an eyebrow at the middle sister. "When I was possessed by that ghost, I couldn't control myself. She danced on the P3 counter, for goodness' sake!"

Paige's head snapped towards Piper in amused surprise, and opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by Piper saying, "Not now, Paige. Phoebe, if I, a Charmed One, couldn't fight against a ghost, then how could Cole, a mortal, fight against the Source?"

"Phoebe, when you thought that Coop was being possessed by Cole, and he was blaming himself, did you think it was his fault?" Paige asked pointedly.

Tears sprung into Phoebe's eyes, as she dropped the spoon into the pot, and slumped against the counter. "No. Of course not. I told him how we've all been possessed at one time or another. I told him that he couldn't have helped it." She clapped a hand over her mouth. "I was so rude to him, to both Coop, and Cole. I didn't know."

Piper smiled at her. "He loves you, and if you talk to him, I know you can work this out together. Come on Phoebe, you have to try."

Phoebe shook her head adamantly. "No, Piper, I can't."

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**How did you guys like Paige in this chapter? I really didn't like her in the show... First she just came and replaced Prue, then she hated Cole, and I really never warmed up to her after that... I tried to show her maturity because I think the whole thing with Billie would have especially affected her since Billie was her charge... I hope you liked it :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thank you HalliwellMB, lizardmomma, and BelovedSlayer for your reviews... I'm glad you liked Paige :) **

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"What?" Paige asked, "Didn't you hear yourself? You said it wasn't his fault! How can you still be mad at him?"

"I'm not mad, Paige. Not anymore, anyway. You guys are right. It's not his fault. But, I can't go back to him. I just want a normal life. I'm sick of trying to make it work with him. I can't be looking over my shoulder waiting for him to turn evil, or be possessed, or be taken away from me by either side. I want what you have with Henry. A nice, easy, human life with human problems. Don't I deserve to be happy too?"

"Phoebe," Piper smiled sadly. "You deserve to be happy. Paige and I discussed this yesterday, and we agreed that Coop and Cole have been the only two people to make you really happy. And now, finding out that they are the same person, it's like it's destiny! The Elders have blessed it, your future nephews have told you how happy you will be, what more can you want?"

"I don't know, Piper. I mean, it's great that the Elders approve. But, Wyatt and Chris may have come from a future where I didn't know Coop was Cole. We don't know that I can be happy now. I just need a sign, to show me what to do. I need to know that love will be enough this time. That he won't succumb to evil, whether it's his fault or not. I mean, I know that it's not his fault that he was possessed, but surely he could have done _something _to make us understand? All of our possession stories had a happy ending, and it was within a day or two. How could we have not known about Cole until now, four years later?"

Piper was about to answer, when the doorbell rang. The sisters followed her to the foyer, as she opened the door revealing the mailman. Phoebe suddenly felt lightheaded, and moved to the living room, to sit down. She unknowingly sat in the exact same spot that Coop was in, a few hours ago. She felt the blood rushing back to her head for a second, before she felt herself being pulled into a premonition.

_[Flashback- 4 x 13-Charmed and Dangerous]_

_She watches Cole showing her younger self a box. "__It's just a little something I've been waiting for the right moment to give you." Cole opens the box, revealing a diamond ring, "It's not your Grams' but hopefully it's not cursed."_

_The Phoebe from the past stutters, "I- I don't think now's the time."_

_Cole interrupts, "Actually I think now's the perfect time." He takes the ring out of the box, and slides it on her finger. "This way, no matter what happens, you'll always know that I love you."_

_Phoebe's expression softens, as she studies the ring. "It's beautiful. Now you have to go."_

_Cole shakes his head stubbornly, protesting, "No, I'm staying here with you."_

"_Do you want me to watch you die too?" Phoebe argues._

"_If that's what it takes to save you, yeah," Cole shoots back._

"_No, but I'm supposed to save you." _

_[Flash]_

_Cole heads to the living room to watch Leo. He sits on the coffee table, when suddenly he is pulled to the Underworld._

_[Flash]_

_The Seer circles Cole like a predator. "I had a vision. One where you and I do great things together."_

_Cole glares at her, "I don't work with evil anymore."_

_The Seer stops for a moment, staring him down, "You might reconsider if you hope to save your precious witch. Only you and I can help to beat the Source."_

_[Flash]_

_Cole watches the Seer hold up the box containing the Hollow uneasily. "What happens to me after?" he asks uncertainly._

"_The witches and I will banish the Hollow back to its crypt. You will return to normal."_

_The current Phoebe felt nothing but despair as she realised this was the last time Cole had been himself. Obviously the Seer had been lying and Cole had not returned to normal. He had given up everything to save her, when she was meant to save him. Guilt seeped into her stomach, making her feel sick. If only he had given her some sign. If he had tried _harder_._

_[Flashback-4 x 14-The Three Faces of Phoebe]_

_Cole drops to his knees in the Underworld, in front of the Seer. "I'll fight it, I'll kill it. I'll find a way," he pants, clearly struggling to maintain control._

"_There is no way," the Seer hisses. "If you weren't clinging to your love for your witch so vigorously, it would've overtaken you by now. It's only a matter of time, and after the Source has fully inseminated you, his power will protect you, shield you from her premonitions."_

_[Flash]_

_Standing outside the bathroom in the manor, Phoebe looks at Cole pointedly. "Do we need to talk?"_

_Cole starts to shake his head, before he squeezes his eyes shut, and says, "Phoebe, I..." Before he can finish, however, he clutches his head in pain, and shouts. "Damn it."_

_Phoebe tries to comfort him, asking him, "What's the matter?" but he pulls away._

"_Uh, nothing. It's just a migraine. I gotta go." With that Cole walks passed, leaving Phoebe very confused._

'So he did try to tell me,' _present_ _Phoebe thought guiltily, _'but the power was too strong. He could only regain control for a few seconds.'

_[Flash]_

_Kurzon throws a fireball at little Phoebe. Cole screams, "No!" and jumps in front of her, taking the fireball himself. "Leave the girl alone."_

_[Flashback- 4 x 16-The Fifth Halliwheel]_

_Cole's eyes turn to black, causing the powerbrokers to remove the power from Paige._

_[Flashback-4 x 18-Bite Me]_

_Cole kills the Vampire Queen in an Underworld cavern and Paige returns back to normal._

_[Flashback-4 x 19-We're Off to See the Wizard]_

_In the penthouse, Cole's demonic assistant Julie looks at Cole with concern. He shrugs it off saying, "Oh just keeping up appearances, you know. Trying to act like any normal father to be. For Phoebe."_

_Julie stares at him suspiciously, "But Phoebe's not here."_

_Cole glares with annoyance, "Is there anything else you need to update me on?"_

"_May I speak candidly?" Julie asks. "I'm worried about you. I'm worried that the witch's influence on you is too great. That the baby will make the pull of love even greater."_

_[Flash]_

_The Seer stands in the penthouse looking at Cole. "If Cole's love becomes any stronger, it will overpower the Source, then you will lose everything."_

_[Flash]_

_The wizard stares suspiciously at Cole, "Not that I'm ungrateful, but why are you so willing to do this?"_

_Cole replies, "I lost someone I love, and I want her back. That's all you need to know."_

_The wizard looks at him in surprise, "Love? The Source can love?"_

"_Just keep working," Cole demanded, impatiently._

_[Flash]_

_Cole floating in the air as the Source is finally being pulled out of him. Then Phoebe appears, and throws fire at the wizard. Cole falls to the floor._

"_Are you okay?" Phoebe asks, rushing over to him. _

"_What happened? What did you do?" Cole asks desperately, searching Phoebe's face._

"_I vanquished him," Phoebe said simply._

"_Oh but he was our last chance," Cole says miserably._

_The Phoebe from the present tried sorting out the multitude of premonitions she had just witnessed. Some were just glimpses, which made it harder for her to understand them, but when she did, she realised the truth for the first time in four years. Cole had fought for them. Cole had never given up. Even when the Source had been oppressing him in his own body, he had gained control at vital moments. He had saved her younger self. He had saved Paige twice. He had almost freed himself, thanks to the wizard. It was her that was weak. She was the one who took the easy way out, and become his Queen. Her stomach dropped as it hit her. She was the one who had chosen evil, not Cole. Granted, she had been partly under the influence of her unborn demon son, but still, Cole had been under the control of the _Source_! And he had never given up on being good, while she, a Charmed One had. And it was that which had caused her to push him away when he returned. The fact that she was so ready to turn evil, for love, had scared her. Now that she knew even Cole wanted to be good, so desperately, she felt even more miserable. She waited for the premonition to end, but it seemed that there was still more for her to see._

**This is an important chapter, and although it took some time to write, it is one of my favourites because Phoebe has finally seen everything we have... There is one more premonition she needs to see though... and you guys will just have to wait and see to find out what it is... **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Here's the next part of Phoebe's premonition, and it's a day early! Thanks to Marie Nomad, HalliwellMB, lizardmomma, BelovedSlayer, and nicole f 111 () for your awesome reviews... **

**I know that a lot of us would have been happier if Nip/Tuck never existed, or if the producers of Charmed had ended Cole's story in a way that Phoebe could still love him, but move on with her life... Unfortunately Centennial Charmed happened, and the Seven Year Witch didn't clear anything up... And was anyone else hoping for a second guest starring appearance in Forever Charmed? They brought everyone else back :( Anyway, enough of my ramble! On with the story!  
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Phoebe was confused as she lingered in the penthouse in her premonition. She had assumed it ended with her choosing evil, so she could be with Cole. Apparently she was meant to see something else.

_[Flashback]_

_Cole is sent to the Wasteland. He screams as a big black ball rises out of his chest, and it drops on the ground. Suddenly there's a rumbling noise. Cole barely has time to scramble away, before the Beast of the Wasteland rises up through the sand, and sucks up the black ball. The Beast shoots back into the ground, as Cole watches in amazement. He lifts his hand up in front of his face, and bends his fingers experimentally, one at a time. He starts to grin, as he forms a fist. He jumps up in excitement, and punches the air. _

"_I'm free!" He says gleefully. "I knew she could do it! I told you she wouldn't stay evil for long!" The rumbling noise returned, silencing Cole. He started backing away from the site, when he saw another demon appear out of thin air. A set of glowing balls leaves him, and his body explodes. The Beast rises out of the ground again, sucking up the powers of this demon too._

"_It must have left me alone because I'm human," Cole wonders out loud. He looks around at his surroundings for the first time. The sand stretched for miles. "How am I going to get out of here?"_

_As Cole surveyed the Wasteland, something glimmering caught his eye. He walked towards it, and saw a set of glowing balls, trapped in a small hole on the face of a cliff. Curious, Cole reached the cliff face, only to see that the hole was higher than he expected. Debating on whether it was worth expending the little energy he had to climb the cliff, or not, Cole heard the Beast coming his way. It seemed he had no choice, as he began climbing. When he finally reached the hole, he was pleasantly surprised to see it was a cave large enough for him to enter. He saw the glowing balls, evidently what was left of some vanquished demon's powers, and tried to pick them up. Suddenly the balls turned into a flash of light which consumed Cole. He shut his eyes until he felt them dim. Opening his eyes, he felt a rush of power. Had he gained this demon's power? And if so, what power was it? _

_Cole mentally scanned himself to figure out what power he had just gained. It wasn't offensive, he knew that for sure. When he finally realised what it was, he grinned widely, "This is the only power I could have asked for! The only power that I need. This is the only power that will save me, and take me back to Phoebe!"_

_[Flashback- 4 x 21- Womb Raider]_

_Cole's astral form floats outside Phoebe's window, like a ghost. He was much too weak to be corporeal, as astral projecting to Earth for the first time had taken a lot of energy. On top of that, the Beast had recognised a being with powers in his Wasteland, and had been chasing Cole for the last few days. He was seriously considering gaining some more demonic powers, just to protect himself, as he knew it was only a matter of time before he lost. That's why it was so important to send Phoebe a message today, despite how weak it made him._

_He pulled back a curtain gently, and saw Phoebe on her bed, reading the letter he had written when he was still Belthazor. The Source had left it for Phoebe, hoping that she would find it before she vanquished him and that it would change her mind. Needless to say, Cole had been furious, but powerless to stop it. Luckily, she hadn't found it, and the Source was gone, and he was free. Well, sort of free anyway. This brought him back to the task at hand._

_When he saw Phoebe had reached the end of the letter, Cole called softly, "Help me!" He saw her sit up, and look around in confusion. "Phoebe!" he said as loudly as he could, but it still came out a whisper._

"_Cole?" Phoebe asked the air. Cole went to answer, but before he could, he felt himself being pulled back to the Wasteland. Back in his body, he hit the sand, he was sitting on, in frustration._

"_Well at least I know I can talk to her. And I will try again tomorrow," Cole mused. A thought suddenly struck him. "How will I tell her that I was possessed all that time, and she didn't even know? I don't blame her, but she will blame herself. I don't want to hurt her. Damn the Source. Maybe I just won't tell her. She'll be mad at first, but once I show her that I'm good again, she'll forgive me." Cole smiled to himself. "She has to forgive me. Our love is too strong for her not to. And this way, while she may hate me at first, she won't hate herself."_

_[Flashback ends]_

Phoebe opened her tear-filled eyes to see her sisters' faces. Cole's excitement when he was finally free of the Source had brought her to tears. How could she let him go through that? And then he had focused all his strength in finding a way to come back to her. Not to plague her like she may have thought, but just to be with her, and be happy again. He hadn't blamed her for not saving him, and he was even willing to accept, what he thought would be her short-lived anger, just so that she would be saved from the guilt and pain that she was feeling now.

"Phoebe? What did you see?" Paige asked, putting her hand on Phoebe's shoulder in comfort.

Piper and Paige sat transfixed by Phoebe's stories of Cole's desperate fight against the Source. Paige's eyes welled up with tears at hearing that, even while possessed, Cole had fought the Source for long enough to save her from both the powerbrokers, and the vampires. For so long she had hated him for sending those very demons after her. She had felt sorry for him, and somewhat forgiven him last night, after hearing that he was possessed, but now what she felt was much more than sympathy. It was gratitude, and admiration, towards the man she should have treated like a brother. He had fought so valiantly to save her, to protect them all from evil, and they had just turned their back on him at the first sign of trouble. It was she that had written him off the most, and pitted her sisters against him at every turn. _'There it was,' _Paige thought ruefully. _'The guilt.'_

The guilt was eating away at Piper. _'So Cole _had_ fought against the Source. He had tried to tell them. He had done everything he could to become good again.' _As Phoebe told them about what she saw in the Wasteland, Piper's thoughts couldn't help but drift towards her eldest son. After all, Wyatt too had become evil in a future she desperately hoped she wouldn't have to face. He had done a lot worse than Cole, and he had chosen his path willingly. Luckily for them all Wyatt had a loving brother to save him, and from what the sisters had seen, Chris' heroics had led to a bright future. _'But who did Cole have?' _Piper asked herself in dismay. _'We were his closest thing to family, and we didn't even know what was happening to him. We didn't even try to save him. He deserved much more from us, and we let him down.'_

When Phoebe finally finished her story, she watched her sisters' faces as they were trying to process everything they had heard.

"Phoebe, you have to go talk to him," Piper urged. "Remember how you wanted a sign that he was good? This premonition was it. Cole didn't stop trying to be good. It was us that let him down, not the other way around."

"Yeah Phoebe. If I had just given him a chance, or tried to help him, instead of being hell bent on vanquishing him, we could have saved him. This is your chance, _our_ chance, to make things right," Paige said desperately.

Phoebe was still caught up in a whirlwind of emotions. Were her sisters right? Could she trust Cole again? She knew that they had failed him in the past, yet he never held a grudge. He had done all that she could have asked him to. He had tried to tell her, and he had done good things despite being possessed. He had even tried to get rid of the Source, and he would have if it wasn't for her. She felt a stab of pain as she knew that Cole was right. The wizard was their only hope. She hated the guilt she was feeling, and tried to excuse her behaviour when Cole had returned. It was then that the memories came flooding back. He had tried to kill himself. He had tried to release the Nexus. He had done evil things without being possessed. Maybe Phoebe should have given him a second chance, but he hadn't done a good job of being human again either. Maybe it really wasn't meant to be?

"You're right that we should have tried to save him. Maybe we let him down, but he was no angel himself. Remember when he came back? He hurt people, and that was when he wasn't possessed. Remember, he almost strangled me..."

"Because of the Siren," Piper interjected. "Leo was under the same spell, so don't even think of suggesting that it was because only Cole is susceptible to evil."

"Well, what about the landlord?" Phoebe asked, not convinced.

"You mean the one you held upside down, hanging over the side of a building? That you risked exposure over? Okay, Cole shouldn't have killed him over it, I'm not saying that was right, but don't you think that maybe that could be considered extenuating circumstances? It's not like he was going around killing innocents every day. And in this case, he was worried what the exposure may do to us. Remember, he was there when we got exposed the first time." Piper tried to force back the tears that still came when she thought of Prue, and her untimely end. She willed for Phoebe to understand that despite Cole's shortcomings, he had always had their best interests at heart, a fact that she and Paige had accepted the night before.

"But he went crazy! You remember what we saw at the Tribunal, he killed people in that bar. He tried to release the Nexus! He even tried to kill himself! Paige, surely you haven't forgiven him from erasing your existence, have you?" Phoebe felt half mad herself, listening to her sisters defend Cole and his evildoings. A part of her knew that it was her rejection of him that had driven him to the brink of insanity, but she pushed that to the back of her mind.

"Like I said to Piper last night, talking to Billie really changed me. Things aren't always what they seem, and people like Billie and Cole might do evil things, even when they are truly good. Especially when they think what they are doing is right. You were right when you said that we made Cole crazy." Paige refrained from accusing only Phoebe, as she felt largely responsible for Phoebe's attitude towards Cole. "I think us accusing him of being evil, when he knew he wasn't and when he couldn't, or didn't want to, tell us the truth, drove him over the edge. He had nowhere to go. I mean, to him, we were the only family he had left, and we ignored him, or worse, we persecuted him. What else could he do? You were his only reason to live. Without you his life was meaningless."

"I think it's more than just us," reasoned Piper. She could see the pain on Phoebe's face, and she didn't want Phoebe to face all the blame. "Remember when the Seer couldn't handle the power of the Source's baby? The power was too much for her and she was vanquished from the inside? I think the powers Cole picked up in the Wasteland were too much for him to handle, and since he was invincible, instead of being vanquished, the powers made him irrational, and well... crazy."

Paige agreed, "You're right, Piper. I mean remember when I stripped his powers? He was almost... back to normal. But then, he sacrificed himself again, by taking them back, because he knew a powerful Barbas was a huge threat to us."

Phoebe sank back into the couch, and sighed. She knew her sisters were right. To be honest, she had known it since the Elder had first revealed the truth. She had tried to deny it with every excuse possible, but each one was as flimsy as the last, and all roads led her to the same conclusion. She had to fix this. "You guys are right. In fact, that was when he really started acting crazy. When he got the powers back. It was like something was after him. I guess he felt that other demons could follow Barbas' example." Phoebe's lip began to tremble, "It was like the wizard thing. We kept taking away his only hope. What have I done? How could I treat him like that? I just abandoned him. And last night, I was horrible. I knew that I couldn't blame him, but I was scared. He's always held so much power over me, and I hated him for it. I hated him because I loved him so much. Now I know the whole story. I've _seen_ it. It was my fault. I have to fix this. I have to find him, and apologise."

As she was about to get up, a voice suddenly spoke, "_Excuse me?_ WHAT did you say?"


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks so much to HalliwellMB, lizardmomma, and BelovedSlayer for reviewing :D I hope you liked the last chapter... Writing Cole's experience in the Wasteland was my favourite part of the story so far... Here's the next chapter... Enjoy :)**

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The girls snapped their heads towards the entry to the living room, to find an incredulous Leo. "What do you mean apologise to _Cole_? After everything he's done? He's possessing Coop! Remember him, Coop? Your boyfriend? What's wrong with you?"

"Calm down Leo." Piper got up, and went over to her husband, putting her hand on his chest to soothe him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was worried. You didn't call last night, or this morning, and I thought something may have happened to you. I thought maybe Cole had done something to you. Obviously he has since Phoebe is talking about apologising to him. This must be his trick to set him free from whatever hell he's in now!"

"Leo, stop it! Listen, you don't understand. You don't know what we know. We spoke to an Elder last night."

Paige's revelation startled Leo, as he finally began listening to what the sisters had to say. He listened in amazement, and then sorrow as he found out about Cole's plight. In a year, Leo and Cole had gone from enemies, to close friends. The Whitelighter and the half-demon had used their common, forbidden love for a Charmed One, to forge a solid bond. They had also bonded over the fact that they both felt a little out of their time, and that they were two males in a household of three strong females. Therefore, Cole's apparent betrayal had hurt Leo too. Now hearing the truth, he was more than sympathetic to the former demon, and appreciative of his efforts to protect the Charmed Ones. He even felt guilty, that despite his time as a Whitelighter, and Elder, he had never discovered the truth himself. However, Leo was still not willing to accept Cole back into the family, if it could put his sons at risk.

"Look I get that mistakes were made in the past. But the fact is that Cole was unstable. I know what you're saying about his powers, and your rejection, but the guy unleashed the Nexus! He changed reality! He was putting the _world_ in danger. We know how Wyatt almost turned out. Do you think this is the best influence to have around our kids? There'll always be something out there, waiting to get Cole. What will he do the next time he's possessed?"

Piper wanted to argue with Leo, but she found that she couldn't. As much as she wanted to make up for the pain they had caused Cole in the past, she had to remember that she was a mother, and was responsible for two other, very impressionable, people. Leo was right. It wouldn't matter if it was Cole's fault or theirs. If such a scenario were to happen again, it could have disastrous effects on Wyatt and Chris.

Paige, on the other hand, was not as easily convinced. After being Cole's pursuer for so long, she felt it was up to her to be his defender, now that they knew the truth. "It won't happen again, Leo. Even the Elders are behind Phoebe and Cole this time. That's why they gave him a new identity. To protect him. He's a Cupid now, not just a half mortal. There's no void for any powers to go into anymore. Besides, if we don't let him down, he won't let us down. I'm sure of it."

"Paige, think about Henry. What if Cole can't handle his Cupid powers? Or if he gets into a fight with Phoebe? I just can't get over the fact that he went so _insane_. The Cole I met would have never done anything to hurt Phoebe. But towards the end, he just didn't seem to care about anything. He was just so _desperate_."

Piper, Paige and Leo all turned to Phoebe. She looked up at them, still crying. "Leo, I can't hurt him again. He may not even want to be with me but I have to make this right. He has to know that I'm sorry. That I know that he's not to blame. I owe him that. I owe him everything. I know this might put our family in danger, and I don't want that. I can't get over the fact that he lost it that badly either. I mean the Cole I fell in love with was always in control. Even when I broke it off with him the first time, and he became a fugitive from the Triad and the Source, he never gave up in himself like that. I can't believe I hurt him that bad, but I must have. There's no other explanation. But now, I think I've hurt him even more, because he doesn't even know what's going on. I would love an excuse to stay away from him, but Piper and Paige were right. He deserves so much more. I have to at least _try. _I won't put your sons in danger, but I can't let this go."

Inside her, Phoebe had always felt that if Cole had truly loved her, and had believed that she loved him back, he would never have tried to kill himself. He would have never given up. His attempts to commit suicide, and his reckless behaviour, towards the end of his life, had scared the hell out of her. Leo was right. It was in that moment of his madness, that she had, for the first time, felt that he could actually hurt her physically, not just emotionally. She knew she had hurt him a lot, and supposed that maybe the pain, coupled with his excess of powers, had finally proved too much for him.

"Phoebe..." Leo started to say, but he stopped when he saw his sister-in-law exhibit the familiar signs of having a premonition. He waited patiently for her vision to end, glancing at Piper and Paige in the mean time. Both of them looked concerned, and Leo remembered that Phoebe had already experienced a plethora of premonitions that day, which were taking a physical and emotional toll on her body.

Suddenly Phoebe gasped, and opened her eyes. For a moment she just sat there frozen in disbelief of what she had just seen. It couldn't be true. But as she locked eyes with Leo, she realised that maybe her vision had made things clearer once again. It could explain Cole's erratic behaviour. She had been right that it was after Cole had regained his powers from Barbas that he had really begun to lose it. However, it was only now that Phoebe had discovered something else that had coincided with Cole's mental downturn. Something that everyone in the room could completely understand. After all, they had already absolved another of his guilt when it came to this sort of _influence_.

Gathering her composure, Phoebe swallowed hard, and looked straight at Leo. "Leo, you're concerned mostly about Cole's actions after the whole Barbas thing, right? I mean you agree with us that what happened with the Source was more my fault than his, don't you? And you accept that when he came back, he really tried to be good, and was always well-intentioned right?"

Leo considered her words before replying, "Well I don't think that you're to blame for the Source either, but yes, I agree that it's unfair to blame those things on Cole. When he came back he made a few very poor decisions, that hurt human beings, but I can see that he was trying to help each time. If it was just that, I wouldn't have such a big problem with him. I mean he went through a lot, and surely if we supported him, I don't think he would make the same mistakes. But, like you said, I'm most worried about his behaviour after he got his powers back. Why? How would that change anything?"

"What if I told you that Cole was being pursued? By beings that made him think that he was going insane? And that his desperation to commit suicide was more out of fear of these beings getting hold of him, and his powers, to do their bidding? Especially when Cole felt that their plans were evil, and would have put the world in danger. Would that make you trust Cole again?" Phoebe focused on Leo, despite seeing the looks of confusion and shock on her sisters' faces through the corner of her eye.

Leo gave Phoebe a puzzled look, unsure of what she could be getting at. "Cole was being pursued?" he repeated. "By who? Who could have had enough power back then to worry Cole? I guess if it was true, it might make me pity him further, as it meant he was trying to sacrifice himself for us once more, but trust him? I don't know Phoebe. How would I know that it wouldn't happen again?"

"I can assure you, Leo, it won't happen again, at least not for a very long time. Besides they were just looking for power, and Cole's Cupid powers won't be enough to make him a target again. Again, I'm not saying that what he did was okay, but I think we should all be able to understand his uh... frame of mind a little better." Phoebe knew that Leo, of all people, would understand what Cole had been through.

Leo pursed his lips, pondering Phoebe's answer. "If you can assure me that it won't happen again, and that this time Cole will remain his usual sarcastic, but largely well meaning self, then sure, maybe I will come to trust him again. But Phoebe, I don't think you can guarantee that. I don't know what you saw in your vision, but there's no being that powerful that could drive Cole over the edge."

Ignoring the last part, Phoebe replied, "So you will trust him, then?"

"Phoebe! You're not listening! I will only trust him if such a being existed!" Leo was beginning to suspect that maybe Cole had done something to the sisters after all. Why else would Phoebe be speaking in such a cryptic manner?

"Leo, I'm telling you that these beings were more than enough to frighten Cole. His desperation to stay away from them and, more specifically, to keep his powers away from them, that's what made him..." Phoebe tried to say, before Leo interrupted her.

"Who Phoebe? Who was it?"

"It was the Avatars, Leo. The Avatars."

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**I hope you didn't mind me not writing out the premonition... I thought that after the last few chapters it would be nice to not have one... For those interested it would have just been a few scenes of the floating Avatar heads pursuing Cole, with him refusing to join their cause... We always knew Cole was smarter than Leo, and I thought it showed when he thought they were dodgy all the way back then, despite being an ex-demon/ex-possessed by the Source, and hated by Phoebe, whereas Leo was an Elder with a happy family and he fell for their Utopia... Even when Cole finally accepted them it doesn't really seem like he cared about their plans at all! He ended up using them!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks to Marie Nomad, and BelovedSlayer! I love reading your reviews :D**

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The Avatars. The floating heads that had plagued him for weeks, before he was finally convinced that their mission was a good one. Leo couldn't believe that Cole had gone through the same torture, two years before he had. As he listened to Phoebe finally describe her premonition, he heard how the Avatars had first come after Cole once he had regained his powers from Barbas. They had decided that his powers would be the perfect addition to the Collective, and that his lack of allegiance to Good or Evil, would make him believe in their cause. However, much like Leo himself, Cole had tried to resist them, feeling uneasy about their claims that there was a bigger picture than Good vs. Evil.

Cole had tried to go to the sisters for help, but they had refused. With nothing to live for, and no one to help him, Cole didn't trust himself to resist their call for much longer, and he suspected that these mysterious beings may be strong enough to convince him to add his powers, one way or another. Cole couldn't let that happen. He couldn't risk putting the world in jeopardy, especially when his love, Phoebe, could be hurt. That's why he came up with his plan of being vanquished. He had used Sam to lure the Charmed Ones to come after him, and he was ready to die. He had thought it would be poetic to die at Phoebe's hand, to remember why he was sacrificing himself. However, his plan had backfired, and Phoebe had refused to aid in his suicide attempt. To his further amazement, when he tried to vanquish himself with the potion, it wasn't strong enough.

With the Avatars constantly bothering him, Cole had to act quickly. He tried many ways to kill himself, as dramatic as throwing himself into a volcano, and as simple as stabbing himself, but nothing seemed to work. The failed attempts only made him more frantic. He began to care less about who he was hurting, as he felt he would be doing it for the Greater Good anyway. Even his plan to free the Nexus, Phoebe had learned, was a last ditch effort to rid the world of himself. He had no interest in reorganising the Underworld, or becoming the Source. Why would he, after all that the former Source had put him through? But that hadn't worked either. There was no other option for Cole. No proverbial rock left to turn. The most powerful source of unadulterated magic in the world had not been enough to vanquish him. The Charmed Ones weren't enough to vanquish him. He almost considered calling for the Hollow, but he still had enough sense to realise how much trouble that would cause.

Distraught, and helpless, Cole had wished to have Phoebe with him. To help him solve his problem. He wished Phoebe could save him, or could have saved him when he was still the Source. He wished he had never been possessed by the Source, and that nothing had come between them. He wished that they could go back to when he was still Belthazor, because even though they had had their own problems back then, they had been able to overcome them with their love. There weren't any third parties to twist their feelings for Evil. There was no Source, no Seer, and certainly no Avatars trying to break Cole's spirit.

It was in this moment of self-pity that Paige had surprised him at the penthouse. After a brief exchange, and sending her into the bay, Cole had wished he could go back to a time when Paige wasn't around. As much as he had tried to get to know his new, almost sister-in-law, and had even come to like her, and respect her, her mistrust of him had come long before he had become the Source. Maybe if she had made a better effort to understand him back then, she wouldn't be so eager to poison Phoebe against him. Even Prue had taken to him, eventually, and accepted him into the family. _'Yes,'_ Cole had thought, _'I wish I could go back to when Prue was still alive. Phoebe and I were just starting to be happy. Those were the days.'_

Caught up in this whirlwind of emotions, and desire, Cole had been easy picking for the Avatars, as he succumbed to their wishes at last. He had become an Avatar, but only with the thoughts of returning to this happy time he had imagined, to be with Phoebe.

Phoebe explained Cole's frustrations, and dismay, at finding out that this alternate reality was, in fact, worse than the one he was living in. Paige added her own details about how the Cole in that time had apparently been holding Phoebe against her will, by threatening to kill Piper in the same way Shax had killed Prue. Luckily for everyone involved, Paige had saved them all the pain of suffering through that reality, which was unhappy for everyone, by reuniting her sisters, and vanquishing Cole.

After hearing the full story, Paige was even more sympathetic than before. The Avatars were nothing but trouble. She had witnessed Kyle's obsession with them, and remembered how he had even worked with Zankou to get rid of them. If an ordinary mortal could risk his life to work with a demon to vanquish these beings, she could definitely see how a power-loaded mortal, who had been spurned by everyone he knew, could become that desperate. Even though Paige had initially been hurt when Phoebe revealed that Cole had wanted to go to a time without her, once she had heard his rationale behind it, she had understood. It was a relief for her that he hadn't meant for her to be dead, and that he didn't hate her enough to wipe out her existence. She _had_ been suspicious of him ever since she found out he was a half-demon. She was still trying to get used to the fact she was a witch, and hadn't got to the point where she could classify demons as potentially good. She would never have been able to comprehend a situation like Drake's, much less Cole's. Even when Belthazor had been vanquished, and he was just Cole the human, she hadn't taken the time to help him through his transition to being a mortal, as she was still getting to know her sisters. She had quickly lost patience with him when he had been fired from her workplace, and hadn't really considered how hard he was trying to fit in. She knew that he had made an effort to get along with her, and if they had met now, she thought they could have even become friends. However, back then, there were so many things happening to her, that trusting, and making friends with her new half-sister's half/ex-half demon boyfriend was not her first priority. She only wished that they could have a second chance, to start over, and give Cole the family he deserves.

Piper was shell-shocked, and a quick glance at her husband told her that he was feeling the exact same way. Of all people, they knew how much power the Avatars could hold over someone, especially a being they wanted to join them. What Leo had gone through almost mirrored Cole's journey. She remembered the numerous times that she would find Leo on his knees, as he spoke about the floating heads that were after him. He too had been full of grief over losing Chris, and disillusioned with the Elders, and therefore, was susceptible to the Avatars' advances. He too had been suspicious at first, but promised with a better future for his wife and family, he done the exact same thing that Cole had, and changed the world. They had learned a lot about Cole over the last two days, things they had never imagined to be true. Each had dealt a severe blow, and had only increased the guilt they had felt over the whole situation. Piper only hoped that everything was finally out in the open, and that finally everyone could be on the same page about where Cole now stood with them.

Leo was ashamed to admit that the first thing that popped into his mind was that Cole had been stronger, and smarter than him. Cole had never fully trusted the Avatars, and had never accepted that their Utopia would be better than the Good vs. Evil fight. They had both lost a lot, but Leo couldn't help but feel weaker, considering he still had his family, his sons, when he had been pursued by the Avatars, whereas Cole was on his own. Leo had quickly fallen in line with the idea of Utopia being the best thing for the world. When Cole finally did become an Avatar, he had changed the universe on, what he had thought to be, his own terms. In fact, Leo thought wryly, Cole's alternate reality had probably consumed so much power from the Collective that the Avatars would have to wait another two years before rekindling their attempt to build Utopia. He had protected the world from them, just like he tried against Barbas, and the Source before that. Leo was finally starting to accept that Cole had tried to be good at every point, but destiny had forsaken him, instead of rewarding him. The sisters had acted with what information they had known at the time, and Cole could only respond to their actions in the way that he had. It wasn't any of their faults. All the players were trying to do what was right, but like a game of chess, each of them could only react to the previous move. None of them knew the bigger picture, and Cole had been the piece sacrificed to win the overall game. Leo thought back to his own experience with the Avatars, and knew that he had been as crazy as Cole was. It was a dark time for him, one that he preferred to push to the back of his mind. However, now it was at the forefront of his thoughts. Phoebe had been right. While Cole's actions were still wrong, they could be explained. On top of that, Leo agreed with Phoebe that the Avatars were unlikely to strike again, at least not anytime soon, and when they did, a common Cupid would probably not be their first target. Cole should be safe, just as the Elders has promised. Maybe this was part of his destiny. Maybe this would be his reward for his sacrifices. Leo knew that accepting Cole back into the family would be a big step, but who was he to deny a man that had saved them all from evil after evil? Cole had given everything up, again and again, for the woman he loved. That sort of character would be nothing but a good influence on his boys.

"Well?" Phoebe asked impatiently. "Do I have your blessing Leo?"

Leo exhaled deeply, before giving her a small smile. "Just make sure you thank him from me."

Phoebe beamed, as she grabbed her keys, and her purse, before dashing out the door, ignoring her sisters' teasing about her being desperate. She was desperate. So much had been said and done over the last four years, the least of which were the hurtful words she had said last night. She had to make this right with Cole. She just had to.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or its characters... Hi guys! Yes, an early update! What a surprise! Well Manchester United are through to the semi finals of the FA Cup, and tomorrow is a public holiday for me so I'm in such a good mood :D Thank you lizardmomma, BelovedSlayer, and HalliwellMB for your reviews :) I know it's been slow going, but there's plenty more drama to come :) As to whether we call him Coop or Cole, I've decided that Phoebe should call him Coop, even though she thinks of them as the same person now. After all, he is in the form of Coop, and doesn't fully remember his life as Cole. I hope you like this chapter!**

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Phoebe parked her car in its usual spot, and rushed into the building. As she stood in the elevator, waiting for it to reach her loft, she felt anxious. Her initial plan was to get Cole to forgive her for everything she had done, and more importantly, _not done_ to him. She wasn't sure if he would accept her apology, but she had thought that if she tried to make it up to him, it would absolve her of her guilt. On the drive over to her loft, however, Phoebe had realised what else she wanted. The Elders had been right. Whether it was Coop or Cole, Phoebe knew there was only one spirit for her. She couldn't live without him. She had tried after Cole had been vanquished, and she knew that no one would ever understand her, or make her feel the same way as Cole had. Coop was the only one of her long line of boyfriends since Cole, that she had truly loved, and seen a future with, and he had turned out to be the same person. Piper was right, it couldn't just be a coincidence, it had to be destiny.

So now Phoebe was extra nervous. How could she ask to have him back, after everything she had done? It was one thing for Cole to forgive her, and then move on with their lives, but to take her back, to love her, after everything they had discovered? Would it be possible? An arrogant part of Phoebe couldn't help but think that Cole would always love her, and would do anything to be with her. He had basically given up everything to be with her in the past, so why would this time be any different? But Phoebe knew it was different. This Cole, _Coop_, had lived without Phoebe. He had done good without her, and he would have a life beyond her if he chose to. He was no longer hiding from demons, and this time the Elders approved of him. He would easily be assigned a different charge if he wanted, maybe several, and then he would be out of Phoebe's life forever.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. It was now or never. She decided the plan was to call for Coop, and beg for his forgiveness, and she would beg him to take her back. It wouldn't be pretty, and it wasn't clever, but it would be straight from her heart. It was the only chance she had. Reaching her door, she unlocked it, and entered cautiously. Looking around, she noticed the empty Chinese food cartons on the table from where they had left them only yesterday, although it seemed like a lifetime ago. The TV was still on, with the menu of _Kill it Before it Dies_, playing on the screen. Phoebe turned it off, and took a deep breath.

"Coop?" she called. "Coop, please, I really need to talk to you. I'm sorry. Please come." She looked around, but there was no pink glow, no sign that her pleas had been answered.

"Coop, come on, please. Forgive me. It was a lot to take in. I just want to talk." Phoebe was almost in tears. How could she apologise if he wouldn't even listen to her. She considered using a summoning spell, but she just wasn't in the right frame of mind to come up with a clever rhyme. She kept calling him, begging him to come down to talk to her, but it was of no use.

Phoebe slumped onto the couch in despair. She wished there was a way to pull him to her. It then struck her. What had Wyatt and Chris told her? That in the future, she was able to think of him, and he would appear! Phoebe had done this before, just the previous day, but she knew the bond between them had been much stronger at that point. Would it still work?

Crossing her fingers, Phoebe stood up again. She shut her eyes, and thought of Coop, and Cole, and how much she had been through with each of them. She remembered how Coop had slowly worked his way into her life, making her laugh again, when she was willing to give up on men altogether. She remembered every night she spent with Cole, the romantic courtship, as well as the comfortable routines they had set in the latter stages of their relationship. This man, this soul, had always completed her, giving her what she needed at every point in time. She remembered the good times, and the bad, but most of all she remembered the love that had surrounded them in every moment they had been in each other's company, despite the form her lover was in.

A soft pink glow filled the room, at first so dim that Phoebe didn't even notice. The light grew, and brightened, until the whole loft was illuminated in a brilliant pink light that materialised into Coop.

At the sight of Coop, Phoebe let emotion overtake her, as she leapt into his arms without thinking. She had forgotten the circumstances of their last meeting, and all that was on her mind was the realisations of love she had come upon. It was only when she noticed the stiffness of Coop's arms around her, and the tension she felt rolling off his shoulders, that she pulled back and glanced at his wary expression. She reddened, suddenly remembering herself, and peeled herself off him, and stepped back from him silently. She opened her mouth to explain, but he cut her off before she had the chance.

"What is it, Phoebe? Have you found a way to vanquish me? Cupids are immortal, so I'm not sure how much you can do, but I suppose you might as well try." Coop looked down, avoiding her eyes, to hide his pain.

Unfortunately, after sharing an epic love, Phoebe knew all too well the expressions of her love, no matter if they were on the face of Cole, or the face of Coop. She knew the pain he was feeling, and she knew it was her fault. She could not feel more rotten in that moment, especially when she was about to ask him to give her a second chance, or maybe it was a third or fourth, to be together with him. She decided to go straight to begging, as she had planned, and doing her best to ignore Coop's expression, she clasped his hands in both of hers.

"Coop, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I can't believe how I was acting yesterday. I was in shock, but that's no excuse. I knew you were hurting, and confused, too, but all I could do was feel sorry for myself. I'm also really sorry for how I treated you all those years ago. I... I had a premonition, and I saw everything. I know how hard you fought. I know how much you did for us. After everything we did, and said to you, you never gave up on us, or our family. I'm sorry Coop, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I gave up on you. I'm really, really sorry." By this time, Phoebe was in tears, and she could no longer bear to look at Coop's face, in fear of the cold rejection she expected. Instead, she felt him pull his hands from her grasp, only to surround her as he pulled her towards him.

"Coop?" she said hoarsely. "I really mean it, I'm sorry." She finally looked up at him again, trying to assure him that this wasn't another trick.

Coop gave her a small smile. "I know you are. I'm a Cupid remember? It's not exactly an empath, but I can still sense your sincerity. I don't know what Cole did, so I can't vouch for him, but I can understand the pain and confusion you were in yesterday, so I don't blame you at all."

Phoebe shook her head vigorously. "No Coop. I was wrong. I was to blame. Yes I was confused, and hurt, but there's no excuse. There never has been an excuse, when it came to you. I have always loved you too much, and I was just trying not to get hurt, again and again. Instead I hurt you, again and again. I'm sorry. I know I keep saying it, but there's nothing else I can say to make this right, so I'll keep repeating it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Phoebe! I believe you! I feel it. I lo... care for you so much that I can't hold a grudge even if I wanted to. If you're looking for forgiveness, which I don't think you need, I'm happy to give it to you. I forgive you!" Coop caught himself before he misspoke. He couldn't believe how worried Phoebe was about obtaining his forgiveness. He was still trying to sort things out himself, but he knew the one thing that would never change, and that he suspected had never changed for Cole, was his love for Phoebe. He would do anything for her, and if his forgiveness was what she needed to stop feeling the pain that was radiating off of her, then that's what he would give her.

Amazed at the ease at which Coop forgave her, and buoyed by the slip Coop had made when he almost told her he loved her, Phoebe decided to push her luck. "If you can really feel what I'm feeling, you should be able to sense something else there. Something stronger than the pain, and even stronger than my guilt. Can you feel it?" she asked Coop quietly.

Coop studied her carefully, trying to find the emotion she was referring to. He didn't have to search far, because the strength of it overpowered him to the extent that he had to grip her tighter in his arms, to keep himself standing. When he finally gained control of himself, he stared at her in complete astonishment. Surely he was wrong? He must have sensed his own feelings in her due to her empathy. There was no way that force had been her own emotions?

Understanding the glimmer of hope in Coop's eyes, that was currently being dampened by his idea of what reality was, Phoebe was quick to nod at him, and smile slightly, to reassure him. "Yes Coop. You are feeling my emotions. That force, that's how much I love you. I know I am asking so much of you today, but if you could find it in your heart to forgive me, I beg you, please take me back."

Still feeling like the events being played out in front of him were surreal, Coop was temporarily rendered speechless. When he finally found his voice, all he could do was utter a cry of surprise. In shock, he searched her face for answers as she waited patiently. "Take you back? Take you back where?" he asked uncertainly, not quite comprehending what she was asking.

Phoebe looked down ashamedly. Tears were still running down her cheeks, but she was oblivious to them. All she cared about was Coop. "Coop, I know this is ridiculous for me to even ask, but..." she trailed off, looking around the room as she gathered courage to make her request.

"I know this is a really complicated situation. I know a lot of things have come out in the last two days that may never have been revealed. But after really thinking about everything, all I know is that whoever you are, whoever you were, I know you loved me. More importantly I love you, with all my heart. I realised that I always have, and I always will. You're the only man for me. The only one that I have truly given my heart and soul to. The only one who has ever known every single one of my secrets, and accepted me for it. It's a lot to ask, I know, but if you could give me another chance, I promise I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you have made me." Phoebe bit her lip. She had said all she could, and now the ball was in his court. She knew a part of him loved her, and she knew that would never change. Would it be enough? Depression began to hit her, as she expected the worst. How could he take her back? How could he continue to care for her? Surely he would expect her to abandon him if they hit a rough patch, as she had done in the past.

As Coop cleared his throat, Phoebe braced herself to the rejection she knew was inevitable. Coop smiled at Phoebe, the warmth of his eyes reflecting his love for her, before replying softly, "I'm sorry Phoebe, but I don't think we can be together."

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**Yes I know... another cliffhanger... I'm sorry, I know everyone's waiting for a happy ending... I promise to update soon though!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks for the phenomenal response to last chapter... I was surprised by the number of people who were happy about Coop's rejection! Thank you to HalliwellMB, BelovedSlayer, lizardmomma, and ColeTurnerFan for taking the time to review! I'm glad that the story seems to be picking up again... Here's the next chapter :D**

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Phoebe had never felt such pain before. She had come close to dying several times, and she had actually died yesterday, albeit for a short period of time. However, nothing compared to what she was feeling now. She had blown it. Time after time, she had tried to get rid of Cole, and now she had finally succeeded, and it was killing her. She knew she deserved it, and she had known that she had no right to ask him in the first place. Nevertheless, she had entertained the slightest amount of hope that he would overlook her actions, and give her the opportunity to earn his love again.

"I understand," she told him quietly, trying to hide the shake in her voice. "I really hurt you, and I completely understand why you wouldn't want to be with me anymore. I just want you to be happy, and if you need to be with someone else to be happy, then so be it." It shredded Phoebe's heart to say those words, but in that instant she knew she was being sincere. All that mattered now to her was making Coop happy. She winced internally, as she realised that had been Cole's only wish in Limbo, to make her happy, despite not being there for her himself. That had been Coop's original plan too. He too had searched high and low for a man that would make Phoebe as happy as he would have, if he had been permitted. Now it was her turn to sacrifice her feelings, for the happiness of the love of her life, and she would do so heartbroken, but willingly. She owed him that much.

"I'm sure that there is someone else out there for you, Coop. You're right. You deserve better than me. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be," she whispered. She didn't dare to look at him, knowing that the agreement in his eyes would push her over the edge. She had to be strong, for him. She had ruined her chance to be with him, and she would just have to learn to accept it.

As she was looking at the floor, Phoebe missed the flash of pain that crossed Coop's eyes, as he snapped his head towards her. Her words had struck a nerve in him, and another memory had flooded his consciousness. He remembered the last time she had spoken those very words to him, or rather to _Cole_, and the pain that it had caused. He couldn't believe what she was saying. How could she think that he wanted anyone else? Why couldn't she understand why things had to be this way?

"Phoebe, you don't understand," he pleaded softly. "It's not that I don't love you, or that I don't want to be with you. There's no one else I would rather be with. But we just can't."

"What?" Phoebe asked astonished. She felt that glimmer of hope rise again. "So you do still love me?" she asked shyly.

"Of course," said Coop, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "You have no idea how hard it is not to kiss you right now. How hard it is for me to know that I won't ever be able to hold you again."

Phoebe's jaw dropped, and she was held speechless. She had never expected such a passionate confession, and it stunned her. When she was finally able to snap out of it, she launched herself at him, kissing his cheeks, and his forehead, her tears mingling with the few that he had begun to shed. She leaned towards his lips, her final destination, only for him to push her away.

As she looked at him in confusion, he sighed again. "Phoebe, please don't do this. I can't bear to have you now, only for you to leave me later."

Mistaking his words for an allusion to her past attitude towards Cole, Phoebe's face fell shamefully. "I know it will be hard for you to trust me. But, Coop, this time it's forever. I won't doubt you again. I won't stop trying. You've always had such faith in me, and our love, and now it's my turn to show you my faith. I will never give up on us again. Now that I know you love me too, I will do everything I have to do, to prove to you that you can trust me again."

The determined look in Phoebe's eyes only made Coop's heart fall further. "Phoebe," he started, "Listen to me. I'm not doing this because I don't want to get hurt. I'm not trying to protect myself, I'm trying to protect you!"

"What?" Phoebe exclaimed in surprise. "Why would I get hurt? It's only hurting me to not be with you!"

"Phoebe, you think that you want to be with me now, but you're being overwhelmed with emotions. You're so caught up in the moment, after finding out so much about the past, that you're losing sight of reality. I'm sorry, but I can't be your fantasy." Coop blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked. None of this was making any sense to her. "I love you Coop! I knew it in my heart before all of this started, and I have finally accepted my love for Cole. Now that I know the truth, I know that he _was_ the love of my life, and I can finally be okay with that. It's not a fantasy! In that time, when we were together, before everything happened with the Source, I didn't think I could be any happier. That was my reality."

"But it wasn't mine," Coop interjected despondently. At Phoebe's questioning look, Coop finally explained what had been bothering him since the Elder's revelation. "Look, Phoebe, I know you love Cole. Believe me, I know. In fact I knew that you still loved Cole the minute we went into the past and relived your memories. You've never gotten over him. You were meant to be with him, and fate took him away. I had hoped that eventually you would get over him, or at least make some space in your heart for someone else, that you could make some space in your heart for me. I felt you starting to like me, but it was never close to what you felt for him. I never gave up hope that one day your heart would be all mine. I just thought it was a matter of time. But now I know the truth. You are only attracted to me because of the similarities to Cole which I possess."

Coop leaned towards Phoebe, and cupped her cheek in his hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. "If we are together, one day you will look back and realise that the man you want isn't the one beside you. The whole time we would spend would be a waste, because I'm not who you need. It would hurt us both. That's why we should go our separate ways."

"No, Coop," Phoebe protested, shaking her head stubbornly. "You're the same person! You _are _Cole! The person I'm meant to be with, the person that I love, it's you! I loved you as Cole, and I loved you as Coop, and no matter who or what you are in the future, I will continue to love you!"

"Phoebe, please. I'm not enough for you. You only think this way because you want to be with _him_, not _me. _You may have loved the both of us, but it was never the same. It will never be the same. Maybe you're right. Maybe we are the same spirit, but we are no longer the same person. I may have some of his memories, but these flashes will never be enough for you. I will never truly be him, and I can never truly make you happy. I will spend my life wondering if I was doing things like _he_ would. If I was as good to you as _he _was. And I never will be. You will always wish that I was him, even if you never admit it to me, or to yourself. You'll wish that I remembered the life you had with him. You'll look at pictures and reminisce, but you won't have anyone to share it with. You may think this is your dream, but it will turn into a nightmare that you will be trapped in, out of guilt. I can't let that happen to you, Phoebe. I won't." At this point Coop had started pacing around the living room, looking up at the ceiling, to hide his tears.

Still seated on the couch, Phoebe had tears streaming down her face and she no longer cared. All she cared about was the man pacing in her loft, and the pain that was evident on his face. All she wanted was to take his pain away, and she wished she knew how. It couldn't end this way. Not for them. Not after everything they had been through. Fate couldn't be that cruel, could it? To finally bring them together, only to rip them apart at the last minute?

Sensing Phoebe's pain, Coop wished he had something to say to make this situation better, but he didn't. He himself felt double the pain, due to his Cupid powers, and he felt that pain increase, as Phoebe's empathic powers kicked in. As she felt his pain, hers increased, which in turn increased his again. It was killing him. How could two people, who had as much love to share as the two of them did, be forced to live without their soul mate? He wished that he could be Cole. His lack of memories seemed to be the only thing in their way. Although she said she loved him too, there was no doubt. Phoebe was meant to be with Cole. She wasn't destined to be with a watered down version like Coop.

"I just wish I could go back to when Cole gave up his memories. I really want to understand what made him give up his memories. I get that it would have hurt to stay away from you, but forgetting? That's taking the coward's way out." Coop shook his head in disgust. Cole had seemed like a fighter, and while it was touching that he was willing to give up his own happiness for Phoebe, it was incredibly annoying to Coop. He wished in that moment, that Cole had kept faith in their love, and been selfish. Most of all he wished he was still Cole, and that they would still have a chance at love.

Phoebe looked at him with a hint of irritation. "Coop, Cole didn't want to hurt me again, and he didn't want to be hurt by me again either. It wasn't selfish or cowardly that he asked to be stripped of his memories. You don't understand what I put him through. If he still had his memories there would be no way that he could move on with his life, and since he thought there was no chance for us, it was his only option. He wanted to serve the Greater Good, and this was the only way he knew how. You shouldn't judge him for that!"

"This is what I mean, Phoebe," Coop said sadly. "We may have the same soul, but I don't know him at all. Nothing he has done is familiar to me. I can't even make sense of it all. You know him much better than I do. If we were together, these things would pop up all the time. We'd never be happy. I really wish I was him, but I'm not. He made the choice, for better or worse, and now we have to deal with the consequences. Believe me, I'm so tempted to use my ring, and go back to that moment and stop him, but too much could change. As much as I love you, I can't risk changing the future. Who knows what I would come back to?"

Phoebe suddenly had an idea. Trying not to get too excited, she bit her lip before asking, "Coop, are you happy with your life?"

Coop looked at her strangely, wondering if the stress and emotions had finally got to her. He decided to humour her by answering anyway. "Of course not. I've lost the woman I love, and I just found out my whole life has been a lie. Even my first charge was really Cole's, not mine. Nothing I've done has made a difference to anyone. I'm miserable."

Phoebe smiled, a real smile this time, hope re-emerging in her eyes. "Maybe we can't change Cole's decision, but I might know how to fix it."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... I was overwhelmed at the response to the last chapter :D Thanks to Marie Nomad, lizardmomma, HalliwellMB, and BelovedSlayer for your reviews! This is a short chapter, but the next one will be up soon hopefully... I hope it doesn't disappoint!**

**Ok I actually was set to update this story on Sunday, but has not been letting me update... I finally found how to bypass a type 2 error on a forum, which is lucky because I was a step away from reposting the whole thing under another name! Does anyone know why this type 2 error thing comes up? Anyway, hopefully this bypass thing keeps working (I have to go through my other story and then cut and paste the story ID of this one)... So I'm sorry for the week delay :(**

**Thanks also to Jess Maximoff for the review :)**

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"Sandra?" Phoebe called excitedly. This would have to work, it just had to. "Sandra, I need your help!"

"Phoebe? What's going on? What's your idea? Who is Sandra?" Coop was completely lost as to what was going on. All he knew was that despite all the constraints he had outlined to Phoebe, she seemed to think that there was a solution for them. As hard as he tried to tell himself that she was mistaken, he could feel hope rebuilding in him too, and he prayed that he wasn't setting himself up for another disappointment.

Before Phoebe could answer him, a shower of orbs appeared in the room, before materialising into the Elder from the previous night. '_So this was Sandra? How could she help us?'_ Coop thought in confusion.

"Blessed be," Sandra smiled, noticing Phoebe and Coop together. "So I presume you have come to terms with the truth. I am so happy for you both."

"Um," Coop hesitated, looking at Phoebe, "Not exactly. Actually..."

"Actually, Sandra, that's what we need your help with," Phoebe interrupted.

"My help?" Sandra frowned, "What sort of help?"

"Coop and I love each other. However, he is worried about the fact that he can't remember any part of Cole's life. I've tried to tell him that it doesn't matter, but he seems adamant that, without Cole's memories, he won't be able to be the man he thinks I deserve," Phoebe explained.

"I'm sorry once more for the pain that has been caused by our erasing Cole's memories," Sandra said sympathetically. "But we just couldn't refuse Cole's request. And now it's too late to go back and change that decision, I'm afraid. We cannot foresee the repercussions that may arise."

"I know, and that's not what I'm asking. We both understand that we can't change the past. But I believe we can change the present. Would there be... I mean, is it possible that you could... Could you just return Coop's memories now?" Phoebe stammered.

"What?" Sandra and Coop asked together.

"Look, I know what's done is done, but can't you just undo it? Clearly you didn't erase Cole's memories, because Coop has been having flashbacks. Your powers must have just caused a block to form, so that he can't access his memories anymore. Can't you just take the block away?" Phoebe pleaded. This had made so much sense in her head, and she had really been hopeful that their problems would be solved. However, the sombre look on Sandra's face was making her nervous.

Coop's eyes widened, as he too turned to Sandra cautiously. Phoebe was right. They couldn't have just erased Cole's memories. Somewhere deep inside him were the memories which could save his relationship. He just needed a way for them to all come out now. As he had told Phoebe before, he couldn't live with her, hoping that he would remember everything piece by piece. But, if everything was to come back to him, that would be a different story altogether. He would have Phoebe, and she would have the man of her dreams. It was the perfect solution.

Sandra studied both Phoebe and Coop carefully. Their faces both stoic, despite their eyes betraying their hope. She smiled at them sadly and then, without a word, she orbed away.

Coop and Phoebe watched her disappear with shock, and then looked at each other, first in confusion, and then in despair. That was it. Their last chance. How many chances had they had in the past? Too many to count. But this, this really must be it. Phoebe looked down, but Coop moved towards her. He raised his arm towards her face, and stroked her cheek. Just as he opened his mouth to say his goodbyes, the loft was lit up once more with orbs.

Startled, Phoebe and Coop stared around in amazement. A circle of Elders had formed around them, each standing with their arms held out. They both scanned the faces of the Elders until they found the one they were looking for.

"Sandra?" The whispered question was all that Phoebe could force through her lips.

Sandra smiled at them both from her place in the circle. "So it will be done," she said simply. Before the couple knew what was happening, beams of light shot out of the hands of each Elder, and converged on Coop's forehead. Phoebe stood helpless as he fell to his knees, clutching his head. She winced as she heard his grunts, which developed into groans. She hugged herself tightly when he began to yell in agony. When he crumpled to the floor, and began writhing, she could no longer bear to look, and fell to her knees too. She could feel every part of his pain as if it were her own. In some ways it _was_ her own. She forced herself to look at him again, and dragged herself over to his trembling form. With all her might she pushed through the pain, and threw her arms around him. She held him close to her as they faced the pain together, the way they should have done years ago. This time she wasn't letting go.

As quickly as they had come, the Elders orbed away suddenly, leaving Phoebe clutching Coop's limb body, the pain finally subsiding. With tears streaming down her face, Phoebe stroked Coop's cheek, willing him to open his eyes.

"Coop! Coop!" she cried, looking for any sign of movement, but there were none. "Coop? Please wake up! I thought that would work! It had to have worked! Please Coop, say something!"

A gentle fluttering against her fingers caught Phoebe's attention. She glanced down to see Coop's eyes fighting to open.

"Come on Coop! You can do it! I'm right here!" she encouraged. When he finally opened his eyes, she grinned so wide that she couldn't contain herself even if she wanted. He would be okay. They would be okay.

"Coop! Coop, how do you feel? Are you okay? Do you remember anything?" Phoebe watched as Coop blinked a few times, before turning his head gently, to look around.

"Phoebe?" he whispered quietly, in confusion.

"Yes, Coop. I'm right here. Are you okay?" Phoebe said gently.

Coop was silent for a while, and despite her excitement, Phoebe remained silent, waiting for him to answer. He finally met her eyes again, and cracked a small smile. "Please, call me Cole."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Wow 6 reviews! I'm so blown away! Thank you so much to HalliwellMB, Jess Maximoff, BelovedSlayer, Darth Keyara, Colerige Turner, and lizardmomma! It meant so much more to me since today is my birthday, and your reviews are great presents!**

**A special thanks to Colerige Turner for your epic review! Thanks for letting me know about spelling/grammatical errors... I'm actually a bit of a grammar nazi myself, but I guess I don't always spot my own typos etc. because I'm trying to write as fast as I can... Let me know when you find them so I can change them right away! Hopefully they're not too annoying like "would of" or defiantly (instead of definitely) because I know they bug me all the time! And I completely agree with you about Cole being treated like a 'demon-of-the-week' when he was vanquished, and I'm glad that my fic can do him a little bit of justice :D You should go and watch season 6 though, because despite the lack of Cole, I really liked the Chris storyline :)**

**This chapter's a little short, but the next one will be up soon :)**

**A/N 2: It was suggested to me by Colerige Turner that this chapter would go well with "Heaven" by Brian Adams... I think that the lyrics fit perfectly with the theme of this chapter, especially this verse:**

**_Nothin' could change what you mean to me _  
_Oh there's lots that I could say _  
_But just hold me now _  
_Cause our love will light the way_ **

**And if you listen to the lyrics of the whole song, it seems like it was written just for Phoebe and Cole! At least that's how it felt to me... What do you guys think?**

* * *

_Last Chapter:_

"_Coop! Coop, how do you feel? Are you okay? Do you remember anything?" Phoebe watched as Coop blinked a few times, before turning his head gently, to look around. _

"_Phoebe?" he whispered quietly, in confusion._

"_Yes, Coop. I'm right here. Are you okay?" Phoebe said gently._

_Coop was silent for a while, and despite her excitement, Phoebe remained silent, waiting for him to answer. He finally met her eyes again, and cracked a small smile. "Please, call me Cole."_

Phoebe looked at Cole speechless, her grin growing wider by the second. She began kissing his cheeks, his forehead, basically anywhere she could press her lips upon. She finally leaned down towards his mouth, and slowly brushed her lips against his. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she leaned in further. Cole slowly rose from his position, as he backed her towards the base of the couch, deepening the kiss. The slow, sweet kiss soon turned into a passionate one, as Phoebe and Cole found that familiar rhythm that they had missed out on for four years. Phoebe parted her lips for Cole, who was quick to reacquaint himself with every corner of her mouth with his tongue. Their arms gripped each other tightly, both appreciating how lucky they were to have this moment again. When air finally became a problem, they reluctantly pulled away, but rested their foreheads against each other's to maintain contact.

Panting heavily, Phoebe gave Cole a smile, and apologised once more. "Cole, I'm sorry for everything I said to you. I'm sorry for how I treated you," she said, punctuating her sentences with soft kisses.

"I'm sorry I came back from the Wasteland and pressured you so much," Cole replied, before kissing her again. "I'm sorry I went crazy."

Phoebe smiled and kissed him back. "Don't worry, I know about the Avatars. I know that drove you crazy, along with your power overload. I'm sorry I didn't help you."

"I'm still sorry, Phoebe." Cole leaned back and stared Phoebe in the eyes. "I want you to know that I never planned to escape Limbo. I didn't want to bother you again, I just wanted you to be happy," he said seriously. He gestured at himself, still in the form of Coop, "This... this was all the Elders' doing. It wasn't me trying to win you back. Not this time. I hope you believe that."

Phoebe gave him a peck on the cheek. "I know, Cole. I know all about Drake, and how you really wanted the best for me. But this is it, Cole. You are the best for me. Even the Elders have accepted it. They want us to be together, and so do I. How about you?"

Cole looked at Phoebe, searching for any signs of doubt in her eyes. Finding none, he replied tenderly, "Of course I want to be with you. I never stopped loving you. Even when they wiped my memory, I fell in love with you again the moment I set my eyes on you as Coop. There was just this inner pull. It was the same one that pulled me away from Belthazor all those years ago. For me, Phoebe, you and I are forever. Nothing will ever change the way I feel about you."

"Can I ask you a question, Cole?" Phoebe asked cautiously. At his nod, she continued. "Why did you wipe your memory? What made you feel that you had to forget everything you are; everything you were?"

Cole looked away in embarrassment. "I was scared, Phoebe. I couldn't bear to come back to your world without trying to see you. I wanted you to be happy, even if it was without me. I really did. But I didn't know if I trusted myself to leave you alone. And even without the Elders' condition, that I don't try to make contact with you or your sisters, I couldn't bear the thought of running into you, and seeing you, and knowing that you would never love me back. I couldn't go through that again."

"Hey," Phoebe called softly, her hand stroking his cheek, as she turned his face back towards her. She pulled him into another earth shattering kiss, pouring out all her love for him in that one gesture, before whispering, "Do you still think I don't love you?"

He gave her his trademark smirk, and growled in a low voice, "If you love me so much, show me."

Seeing the lust dripping from his eyes, Phoebe felt her own body going warm in response. She gripped Cole's hand, and they rose together. "Why Mr Turner, are you trying to seduce me?" she asked playfully.

Recognising the line they had often asked each other in the past, Cole grinned impishly, as he pulled her towards her bedroom. "Always," was the last thing he said as he shut the bedroom door. For now there would be no talking, after all they had a lifetime waiting ahead for them to talk to each other, about anything and everything. At the moment, however, they had other things on their mind, as they planned to show each other the love they had tried to suppress for more than four years.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... No excuse for this chapter being late... I'm actually behind with writing, and that's why I didn't put this one up earlier... But I will do better next time. There's only two or three chapters to go, depending on if I split the last one into chapter 25 and an epilogue, or one long chapter... I really loved writing this story, and I'm so excited about finishing it!**

**Thanks so much for my six reviewers! Thank you to BelovedSlayer, lizardmomma, Colerige Turner, Jess Maximoff, HalliwellMB, and Darth Keyara! An extra thanks to those of you who wished me for my birthday! It was a great day :D **

* * *

As the sun streamed into Phoebe's bedroom, she groaned and cuddled closer to the warmth emanating from her left. When she felt the shape of a man's body, she opened her eyes slightly in confusion. She was met with the sight of Coop's brown eyes locked on her own. She instantly relaxed, and let a lazy smile overtake her face, as she remembered the events of the night before. She felt a blush spread across her cheeks, but laughed at the thought of this, hopefully, becoming a regular occurrence for her, from now on.

"What's so funny?" whispered Cole, keen to maintain the intimate mood.

"Nothing," Phoebe replied, just as quietly. "I was just thinking how wonderful it's going to be, to wake up next to the man of my dreams, everyday, for the rest of my life."

Cole let his own face break into a grin. The words coming out of her mouth were like music to his ears. He couldn't think of anything that sounded better.

"I love you, Phoebe," was all that he could manage to say, to convey his happiness.

"I love you too, Cole," she beamed back, leaning in for a kiss, which Cole happily obliged her with.

"I thought after last night, you would be sick of these," Cole teased.

"Never!" Phoebe shrieked, as Cole pulled her towards him once more, this time for a longer, more sensual kiss. Just as Cole was about to deepen the kiss, a low rumble filled the air. Both Phoebe and Cole paused, and pulled away reluctantly. They took one look at each other and burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry!" Phoebe said defensively, struggling to breathe through her giggles. "I didn't eat at all yesterday!"

"I think we had better get you fed then," chuckled Cole.

Phoebe pouted, but a second grumble from her stomach made them both laugh again. "Okay, okay fine," Phoebe conceded, getting up. "Let's go have breakfast."

Cole got up from the bed too, and rested his hands on Phoebe's shoulders. "How about you go and have a nice long shower, and I will take care of breakfast?"

Phoebe smiled gratefully. She really felt like a shower, and she had missed Cole's cooking. "If you sure? That would be great!"

Cole grinned mischievously, as he headed to the door, "My pleasure. Besides, now that I have my memories back, I'd rather you didn't cook for us." He chuckled loudly, shutting the door just in time, as a pillow thudded against the other side.

* * *

After Phoebe showered, she and Cole sat down to breakfast. Their short time apart had stirred up all the questions they had for each other, and thus, their meal was accompanied by non-stop conversation. They had both begun by apologising for their part in the downfall of their relationship. Phoebe still had a lot of guilt for giving up on their love, and still couldn't understand how she had missed the fact that Cole was possessed. Cole had tried to assuage her guilt by telling her about the Seer's involvement in hiding the truth from her. Likewise, Cole tried to apologise for the persistence with which he had pursued her upon returning from the Wasteland, especially when he was hiding the truth from her. She told him that it was her fault that she didn't give him the opportunity to explain himself. After much debating over blame, they both came to the conclusion that whatever had happened was in the past, and since they were lucky enough to get another chance at love, they should just try to put the blame game behind them. The conversation then moved onto lighter topics.

"I can't believe Piper had two sons!" Cole laughed. "After all that planning for her daughter! I have to say they looked really close, though. It's hard to believe that was the Chris I saw from Limbo. He was still neurotic about future consequences, but looked so relaxed. I'm happy for him. He's a good kid."

"Yeah, that was another of our misjudgements. I bet you saw how suspicious we were of him, right?" Phoebe looked down embarrassed.

"Sure I did, and it was so frustrating, because I knew you'd never treat him that way if you knew. But you didn't Phoebe, and when you finally found out, and you all accepted him so wholeheartedly. You don't know how much that meant to him, even if he didn't show it. Gotta say though, as much as I love Chris, I love Wyatt even more. Sometimes a little peak at the future is just what we need." Cole raised his eyebrow, and grinned.

"Yeah," Phoebe agreed. "It is nice to know that the future looks good for us, and it's a huge relief that the Elders are okay with this. So, by the way, do you stay a Cupid?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"Yeah," Cole replied. "The Elders met me yesterday, after I left the manor. They apologised again. I guess they really did feel bad for messing us up. They said regardless whether you take me back, or not, either way, I can stay as a Cupid if I want. And I will get more charges after this. I keep the identity of Coop, for my own safety, and, as long I have Cupid powers, there's no void for _other_ powers to uh, takeover." Cole looked away grimly, but Phoebe grabbed his hand from across the table in comfort.

"Cole, I didn't ask because I think you're going to turn evil," Phoebe said firmly. " In any case, this time I will be better, and try and protect you." This time it was she who looked uncomfortable. Cole's features softened as he gave her hand a squeeze.

"Hey," he said, mustering a smile. "I thought we agreed no more blame!"

"Okay, okay," smiled Phoebe, happy that the heavy moment had passed. To lighten the mood she asked, "So you never told me why you chose the name Coop. Was it because you were a Cupid? That's not very creative, Cole," she teased.

"Actually Cooper was my mother's maiden name. Well at least it's the one she made up when she fell in love with my dad. After she... well after my dad died, we moved to France and I took her last name. My human friends called me Coop when we were little. Playing with them, and being accepted? It was the last happy memory I have from before I met you." Cole shrugged, "When the Elders asked me to choose a name, it was the first thing that sprung to mind."

"I can't believe I never knew that. After 3 years together." Phoebe suddenly realised she knew nothing about Cole's past, especially about his childhood. Somehow he had always evaded her questions, and there had always been more pressing matters, so she had never had the time to push him about it.

"I don't really like talking about that time. I mean as much as my mom loved my dad, she killed him because the Source ordered it. She was a demon, and she couldn't love him like a human loves. She couldn't love him like I love you." As Cole finished his sentence, his expression changed slightly, with a look of worry overcoming his features.

"What is it?" Phoebe asked in concern, immediately noticing the look of apprehension on his face.

"Actually, Phoebe, I have a question for you." Without waiting for a reply, Cole blurted out, "Did you love Coop more than me?"

"What?" Phoebe asked in astonishment. "What is wrong with you? You were just like this as Coop too!"

"I know you said that you didn't love him less than you loved me, but I was wondering if that meant you preferred to be with him. You don't have to answer. I don't think there's any way to bring him back now..." Cole trailed off.

"Cole, seriously, listen to me. I loved Coop with all my heart, and in the short time I knew him, I knew I was falling deeply in love with him. But you and I, we were together for much longer, and I loved you so much, that it hurt to think about you." Tears sprung into Phoebe's eyes, "I can't tell you how much I love you both, and I'm so lucky, because you're the same person, and I get to have both of you."

Cole smiled sadly, "But are you sure that you aren't hoping for me to be just like he was? Now that I have my memories back, I'm a mixture of Coop, and my old self. I won't act exactly like him anymore. I just don't want you to be fooled because I still look like him."

Phoebe rolled her eyes, as she wiped the lingering tears. "You're an idiot, Cole," she sighed. "Coop was _you._ Not some other guy! On the inside, you're the same person. The person that I fell in love with- twice! It doesn't matter what you look like, if you're Coop, Cole, or the Sandman, for all I care! You're the one I'm in love with, and always have been."

"I get what you're saying," Cole said doubtfully. "But this whole Coop-Cole thing... Having both of our memories in his body... What if you're just attracted to me for his body? It's just really confusing, and I don't want you to think you're getting one guy, when you're really getting another."

"Cole!" Phoebe glared at him, "Just by saying that, I know that you guys are definitely the same person. For the last time, I love you! I loved you as Coop, and I know that I have loved you, _Cole_, since we met. I can't choose between you, because you are the same person! You have Coop's memories, and you now have your own too. Every moment of true love I have had, has been with you, and you can remember them all! I don't see any problem at all! I don't want Coop, without Cole, and I don't want Cole, without Coop. I just want _you_."

"Phoebe..." Cole started, obviously still not convinced.

"No way, Cole," Phoebe said, as she stood up. "We're not letting this become a problem. I'm not confused at all, but if you are, let me fix it now." Phoebe wandered over to a bookcase and pulled out an exercise book. She flicked through the pages as she made her way back to the table.

"Phoebe, what are you doing?" Cole asked, only to be shushed.

"_I call upon the Ancient Powers, to unmask you now and in future hours. Show you well and thoroughly, to those that are your family."_ As soon as Phoebe finished her spell, white lights glowed around Cole. As they subsided, Phoebe smiled to herself triumphantly.

"What happened?" Cole asked slowly. He looked at his body, but could see no change. "What did that spell do?"

"Nothing for you," Phoebe said lightly. "But, I just made things a lot less confusing for both of us. By the way, your hair is getting a bit too long."

"Yeah but everyone just sees Coop, so what's the point?" Cole answered reflexively. "So how is it less... Wait, you can see my hair?" A grin started to appear on Cole's face.

"Yep," Phoebe confirmed. "I can also see your _blue_ eyes, and the rest of your _Cole_ body. You have nothing to worry about now. Coop is a part of our past. A very happy part, but it's just another memory. To me you'll always be Cole, and now you look like him too."

"But Phoebe, what about the demons?" Cole pointed out. "I want to lay low on their radar. I can't be Cole again completely."

"That's why you're not." Phoebe winked. Sensing Cole's growing tension, she stopped teasing him and explained. "The spell only lets people who love you see the real you. But everyone else will see you as Coop. Look at your reflection in the TV if you don't believe me."

Cole glanced in the direction of the television, and noted that he did indeed still look like Coop.

"Happy now? It's your body, and your mind that I want. I know exactly who I'm getting, and I couldn't be happier."

Cole got up and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry Phoebe. I guess I'm still getting used to this situation. I know I was annoying, but I just didn't want you to make a mistake. I love you. Sorry again, okay?"

Phoebe gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Like I said, Cole, this time I'm in it for the long haul. Last time it was you who didn't give up. I promise you that this time I will do anything to be with you, and if that means dealing with your insecurities from time to time, well it's not even an issue."

"Speaking of insecurities, I have another question," Cole began nervously.

"What is it this time," Phoebe sighed, raising an eyebrow.

"What do your sisters think about this?" Cole asked uneasily.

"Why don't you ask us yourself?"

* * *

**A/N: You guys are always so great to me... In return, I think this chapter was the gift you were all waiting for! Hope it didn't disappoint... I didn't mean to make Cole seem ridiculously insecure if that's how it came across, but he needed to know exactly where he stood with Phoebe, which made him ask lots of questions... And now the happy couple have to deal with the sisters!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks to lizardmomma, Jess Maximoff, HalliwellMB, BelovedSlayer, and LeftWriter224, for your reviews! **

**BelovedSlayer, you were my first review, so it seems like fate that you were also my one hundredth! Thanks so much for sticking with my story! That goes for all of you who have read my story from when I first began updating, and thank you to the new readers, and also the people who have been reading but haven't reviewed yet. I just finished writing the last chapter, and I'm really proud of this story, and I would have never been able to finish it without the encouragement I have received from all of you. **

**Here is the penultimate chapter... It's a little long because I wanted to finish the story with 25 chapters (I'm a bit obsessive like that ;) )**

**I hope you like it!**

* * *

Phoebe and Cole spun around to see Piper and Paige standing in the living room. Obviously they had been too caught up in their conversation to notice the sisters orb in.

"Phoebe, I'm sorry we just orbed in like this, but you didn't call last night, and we thought maybe that was a good sign, but just in case it wasn't, well, we just wanted to check up on you." Paige began rambling, looking at Phoebe. Piper on the other hand was speechless, as she just stared at Cole.

Cole felt uncomfortable under Piper's gaze, and looked away awkwardly. He thought about hearting away, and leaving the sisters to talk alone, but he knew that if he wanted to make this work with Phoebe permanently, he needed the sisters to warm up to him, so that they would be on his side, just in case anything went wrong again. So he stood firm at Phoebe's side, and attempted a smile at Piper. He dared not look at Paige yet, and even if he had, she wouldn't have met his gaze, as she was still talking to Phoebe.

"We didn't want to assume something, only for something else to happen," Paige continued.

"Paige," Phoebe tried to interject, but to no avail.

"We just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"Paige!" Piper nudged her little sister, trying to stop her rambling.

"But we're still sorry. We know this is your personal space, and Cole doesn't like us orbing in unannounced," Paige exhaled, finally turning towards Cole. She gasped at the sight of him, "Cole! You're _you_! I mean, I thought you would look like Coop! But how?"

Phoebe smiled smugly at Cole. "I guess there's your answer."

Piper and Paige looked at Phoebe in confusion, momentarily forgetting their amazement at Cole's appearance. Cole also looked at Phoebe questioningly, before realisation dawned upon him.

"The spell," he breathed out, letting a smile overtake his face. He looked intently at Piper and Paige, and asked excitedly, "You can see me? As in you can see Cole, and not just Coop?"

Piper nodded slowly, with one eyebrow raised. "Is anyone going to tell us what's going on?"

Phoebe smiled at her sisters, explaining, "I cast a spell on Cole, so that only the people who love him can see his true form. That way he's still off the demonic radar. Since you guys can see him..."

Cole took the opportunity to jump in. "Look, Piper, Paige, I just want to apologise for everything that happened. Especially to you, Paige," he said turning towards the youngest Halliwell sister. "I don't even know how to make up for everything you went through. I tried... I tried to save you..."

"Cole," Paige interrupted, with a small smile on her face. "We know all about the Source, and how hard you fought against him. It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you at all."

"Yeah Cole," added Piper. "Actually we let you down. We should have tried to help you, not vanquish you. You're family, and we see that now."

"But I did horrible things when I came back too. The powers sort of got to me. And I had my own run in with our not so friendly Avatars. That's not an excuse though. I mean, Paige," he stopped to look ashamed, "I almost erased you from history. I still don't understand what I was thinking."

"Cole, really," Paige pressed, "I won't agree with everything you did when you came back. You did kill people. But they weren't exactly innocents, and I can understand how hard it was to be such an outsider, especially after everything you went through. It would have really affected you. I know that it sucked when I was stuck in that alternate reality, and my own sisters didn't believe me for a while. Piper's right, we should be sorry too. Let's just agree to move forward. You know we both forgive you since we can see you. Let's start afresh, and this time we'll stick together, like a real family."

Cole opened his mouth to protest, but then shut it, mustering a friendly smile of his own. "Okay, let's start anew. And just for the record, it was the Source that didn't want you orbing, because he didn't want you to catch him and his demonic henchmen plotting. So you guys should feel free to come anytime you want. After all, this is Phoebe's place anyway, and like you said, Paige, this time we'll be a family."

Phoebe beamed at him, and slid an arm around his waist in appreciation of his effort to get along with her sisters.

Meanwhile, Piper looked at him, fighting a smirk, "Any time, Cole? We can orb in _any time _we want? So we could have orbed in... I don't know... last night?"

"Piper!" Phoebe exclaimed in embarrassment, burying her face into Cole's side. Cole gaped at his former sister-in-law, shocked at what had come out of her mouth. Paige just giggled.

"Relax, I'm only teasing," Piper laughed. "Actually, I wanted to invite you guys over for a big family dinner. I promise I'll be nice!"

Phoebe looked at Cole, wondering nervously if it was too soon, but Cole just nodded at Piper.

"As long as you're cooking," he grinned.

Piper gave him a genuine smile in appreciation. She had worried about whether he would accept her invitation, and was worried that even if he forgave Phoebe, he may not find it in his heart to forgive herself and Paige. But now she was growing in confidence that they would actually become a family this time, and a close one at that. This time, Cole would be more than just Phoebe's boyfriend, he would be their friend. She and Paige had talked about it again last night, and they had agreed that even if Cole resisted at first, they would keep pushing him, to let them into his heart.

"Great!" Paige turned to Piper, "I need to go tell Henry. He had a day off today, so he should be free."

"I should start preparing too," Piper said. "Apparently I have a lot of cooking to do!"

She looked pointedly at Cole, who shrugged, "I haven't had a home cooked meal in 4 years! What do you expect?" He meant it as a joke, but seeing the fallen faces of all three sisters, he tried again to make them smile.

"Besides," he continued, "I'd be stuck with Phoebe's cooking otherwise!" This time he got his desired effect. Phoebe pouted, while Piper and Paige chuckled.

"Okay then," Paige said, still trying to hold in her laughter, "We'll see you at 7:00, at the manor." Piper too said goodbye, and they orbed out.

* * *

At 6:00, Phoebe was standing nervously in front of her wardrobe. After her sisters had left, she and Cole had gone for a walk in a nearby park. They were still exploring the boundaries of their relationship, and decided that they should take things slow. Both were afraid of getting hurt again, and by taking things slow, they figured that if something were to happen, they wouldn't be deep enough to feel the pain they had experienced in the past. They had gone to a small cafe for lunch, and then a movie afterward. When the movie was over, Cole got a strange look in his eyes, and had told Phoebe that he would meet her at the loft at 6:30, so they could go over to the Halliwell manor together. Phoebe had asked him why he wasn't just going back to the loft with her then, and he had told her that he had a few errands to run. Now Phoebe had known Cole for over two years, and he never ran errands. In the past he had only disappeared suddenly when he was Belthazor, and when he was the Source. Phoebe trusted Cole was neither of those at the moment, but it still made her feel uneasy about the whole situation.

Phoebe absentmindedly fingered through her dresses, as she thought about the other issue on her mind. When Cole had asked her to take things slow she had happily agreed. However, she knew she loved Cole, and that there was no other man for her. Pain or no pain, she had realised that she was in this relationship for the long haul. Cole's absence had made her understand that she didn't want any part of her life to be separate from his. She didn't want him to have errands that she couldn't run with him. They hadn't formally discussed living arrangements, and Phoebe had no idea if Cole had even had a place to live when he was Coop, but she wanted him to live with her. It wasn't about trust, because she honestly did trust him. It was about love, and her need for him. But because of their stupid agreement, they were bound to act like a newly formed couple, rather than one who had almost been married. She had now begun to think of them as never having been married, since technically she was married to _the Source _and not Cole himself.

Seeing the time, she quickly grabbed a red dress that she remembered Cole having liked, and changed into it. She had five minutes before Cole arrived, and she used it to put on her make up, ignoring the numerous thoughts swirling in her head. She also refused to think about how the dinner would go, and whether their relationship would be accepted by Leo. She knew he no longer had a grudge against Cole, but would he be okay with them being together? His opinion meant a lot to Phoebe, and she couldn't stand being at odds with him over something as important as Cole. Not to mention Henry's reaction. She wasn't even sure if he knew about Cole. How much would Paige tell him about the situation? It was hard for a mortal to grasp the concept of possession, and Henry may not understand why Cole had done those horrible things, especially since most had been to his wife, Paige, herself. All of these problems came to the forefront of Phoebe's mind, but she pushed them back immediately, knowing that how her family reacted was out of her control. Her sisters had shown their support, and that was the most important thing. Everything else would work out, it had to.

A flash of light in the living room made Phoebe hurry out of her bedroom to find Cole hearting in, wearing a dark blue button down shirt, and black slacks.

"You look amazing," he breathed out, his eyes trailing up and down her body.

Phoebe blushed, before replying, "You look great too. Let me just get my purse and jacket." She turned to head back to her bedroom, but Cole stopped her.

"Phoebe, wait," Cole called, causing Phoebe to turn back to him, in confusion. "I, um... I have to tell you something." Cole hesitated, looking at her anxiously.

All of Phoebe's earlier concerns came racing back to her. "Is this about your errands?" she asked quietly, looking down at her hands.

Cole was taken aback that Phoebe had seen through his lie so quickly. He rubbed the back of his neck, before sighing, "Yes, it is. Look Phoebe, I know we said we wanted to take things slow, but the truth is I don't want slow. It only hit me after that movie. I needed to take a walk. Alone. I'm sorry I lied, but I needed time to think."

Phoebe looked at Cole, uneasily. "What are you saying, Cole?" she asked.

"I'm saying I don't want to take you out a just few times a week. I don't just want to meet you in a park. I don't want to walk on eggshells like I just met you. I love you, Phoebe Halliwell. I want to wake up next to you every morning, and I want to go to sleep with you in my arms every night. Sure, I love seeing you dressed up like this, but I also want to see you with your glasses, and your wild hair, dressed in your bunny pyjamas! I want to make faces at your cooking. I want to go back to training with you. I want to bond with your sisters, and hang out with Leo and Henry. I want to babysit your nephews. I know what we said, and I know that this is probably too fast for you, but I just want you to know exactly how I feel. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Phoebe. I want the human dream. I want three kids, all girls preferably, so they can be as close as you and your sisters. I want to move to a house with a big garden, so we can all play together, and buy a dog, because I know that you've always wanted one. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Phoebe."

Cole bit his lip, and tentatively knelt on one knee, as Phoebe gasped. "Phoebe, will you marry me? If it's too fast, then you don't have to say yes now. I will wait for as long as it takes, Phoebe. I'm not going anywhere. I just want you to know that I'm ready, so whenever you are, just let me know."

Cole finally ran out of breath, and looked up into Phoebe's eyes, which were filled with tears. He opened his mouth to reassure her once more that there was no pressure, but she launched upon him, hugging him tightly. She kissed him hard on the mouth, and pulled away crying, "Yes! Yes!"

Stunned, Cole leaned back, studying her face carefully. "Yes?" he asked cautiously. "Are you sure?" he questioned, as she kept nodding. A slow smile turned into a full blown grin as the pair beamed at each other.

"I don't have a ring," Cole said in a disappointed tone, in contradiction to the expression on his face. "I spent an hour looking for the perfect one, but nothing was good enough. We can look together tomorrow if you want."

Phoebe grinned even wider, "We don't need to. I have the perfect ring already."

She rushed into her room, and Cole could hear her rummaging through her drawers. She came out victoriously, holding a familiar ring between her fingers.

"Phoebe, no," Cole protested. "That ring is unlucky! I can't let you wear that!"

"Cole, this ring was never unlucky. The wedding band was, because the Source bought it, but you bought this one when you were mortal. You bought this one with love, and you never got to fulfil the intention of marrying me of your own free will. This is our second chance at marriage, so we should give the ring a second chance too." Phoebe handed it to him, and as he took it reluctantly, she held her hand out expectantly.

He looked at the ring in his hand. It really was the perfect ring, and looking at it reminded him of the excitement he had felt when he bought it years ago. It explained why he had no success this afternoon, as nothing could compare to it. He smiled at it, and then at Phoebe, sliding the ring onto her slender finger, beaming as it still fit perfectly.

"We're getting married?" he asked, to make sure.

"We're getting married!" Phoebe wrapped her arms around him in joy, kissing him passionately, as they both stood up. So what if they were a little late to Piper's dinner. They had to celebrate.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks so much to lizardmomma, Jess Maximoff, Darth Keyara, BelovedSlayer, LeftWriter224, and sg90210 for taking time to review :D Here we go... the last chapter!**

* * *

At 7:15, Phoebe and Cole hearted into the Halliwell Manor.

"That was a good idea," Cole whispered to Phoebe, with a grin. "It gave us extra time to… uh you know." He wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively, to which she simply rolled her eyes and blushed.

"Piper? Leo?" she called, as they walked into the empty living room.

"I'm in here," Piper called back, from the direction of the kitchen. "Leo's changing the boys, and Paige and Henry aren't here yet. Make yourselves comfortable. I just have to finish up a few things in here."

Just as she finished her sentence, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Piper? The boys are ready. Oh hey! Phoebe! Cole! Wow! It's really you again!" Leo exclaimed, with Chris in his arms, and Wyatt standing behind him. There was an awkward moment, which Phoebe used to excuse herself, as she headed to the kitchen to help Piper, leaving the two men to talk.

Leo put Chris down, and said to Wyatt, "Why don't you two go play with your toys till dinner, okay buddy?" Wyatt nodded, and grabbed his little brother's hand. Together they walked through the door to the conservatory.

"Leo," Cole started. "I'm really sorry. I've already apologised to the girls, but I owe you an apology too. I never meant to cause so much trouble, and I'm sorry for putting you in danger."

The tension which Leo had felt earlier, at hearing about Cole's return, dissipated immediately. He recognised that this was the Cole he had befriended, not the madman he had come to know later. He smiled at him easily, "Cole, don't even sweat it, man. I know about everything that you went through. The Source, the powers from the Wasteland, the Avatars; I know about everything. I'm sorry too. We should never have let it get that far. We should have helped you. But, hey, this is our chance to make it up to you. By the way, I don't know if Phoebe ended up mentioning it, but I owe you big time. Thanks so much for everything you did for me and Piper when you were in Limbo. I know it was so _Phoebe _didn't give up on love, but it stopped us giving up too. I've never been happier, and now I have so much more time with my boys, and Piper. I really can't thank you enough!"

Cole returned Leo's smile with a relaxed grin of his own. "So we're good? Because, once I got over your boring pacifist crap, you were my only friend, my best friend. Not to sound sappy, or anything," Cole cleared his throat, "but, I would really like a second chance with that friendship too."

Leo's smile grew wider. "Yeah, we're better than good! Come here, man!" He spread his arms out wide, indicating that he wanted a hug. Cole rolled his eyes, but happily obliged. They slapped each others' backs, in a very manly way, and pulled back.

"Well, what's going on here?" teased Piper, as she and Phoebe came back into the living room.

"Nothing," Leo said, as he sat down, with Cole following suit. "Just guy stuff. Right, Cole?"

"Right," Phoebe said sarcastically. "Is that a tear in your eye, Cole?"

"Ha ha," Cole responded dryly. "Okay, so we were making up. Whatever, it's no big deal." The smile on his face alerted the whole room that it was, in fact, a big deal, and all four occupants were thrilled that they could relate as a family once more.

"So," Cole said, looking between Piper and Leo. "Can I officially meet Wyatt and Chris?"

Phoebe bit her lip, waiting for the awkwardness to return, but she need not have worried.

"Wyatt? Buddy? Can you and Chris come in here a minute?" Leo called loudly.

Chris came running through the door, with Wyatt trailing behind shouting, "Slowly, Chris!" At his mother's stern look, he yelled defensively, "I tried mummy! He don't listen!"

"He doesn't listen," corrected Piper.

"Yeah!" replied Wyatt, leaving Piper shaking her head in amusement. She would have to talk to them later.

"Cole, this is Wyatt, and this is Chris," Leo said proudly. "Boys, this is…"

"Coop!" Wyatt interrupted, rushing to jump into his lap. The adults exchanged glances in confusion.

"I didn't know you and Wyatt were close," Phoebe said to Cole.

"Well I had to bond with him when you guys were in hiding. I guess he was so scared, that when I reached out to him, we became friends. You know how kids are," Cole reasoned.

"But why can't he see you, Cole?" Leo asked. "Why does he see Coop?"

"I can explain that," Phoebe interjected. "The spell I cast only lets those that love Cole see his true self. Wyatt and Chris never knew Cole, so it doesn't affect them."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Piper said. "They're so young that it would confuse them if we asked them to call him Cole at home, but Coop in public. The fewer people that know about this, the better, Cole. We don't want you being attacked by the Underworld again."

"Uncle Coop!" Phoebe exclaimed. She turned to Cole, "Maybe this was how the future turned out after all. Maybe Wyatt, from the future, still calls you Uncle Coop, instead of Uncle Cole, even though I found out who you were!"

As they all contemplated this new information, Paige and Henry orbed in.

"Paige, really? Could we not have driven?" Henry complained.

"Ha! Be even later? Do you _want _Piper to kill us?" she shot back, before noticing they had an audience. "Uh, hi guys! Nice day," she tried.

"Hi Paige," Piper said slowly, staring her down.

"It's not my fault!" Paige put her hands up. "Henry had to work late!"

"I thought he had a day off," Phoebe raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay. But it was his one day off in ages, and I didn't have to work, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity…" she trailed off blushing. Henry looked away in embarrassment, elbowing Paige in her side.

"Too much information? Yep, that was way too much information," Paige rambled. "So, how are you guys?"

Cole stood up, and offered his hand to Henry. "I'm not sure what Paige has told you about me, but I hope we're good."

Henry took his hand, and shook it warmly. "I don't really know what's going on, and I don't know if I want to know a lot. This magic stuff really hurts my head. All I know is that Paige says you're a good guy, and that you saved her, and her sisters, from trouble. That's more than enough for me, Coop."

Paige looked at Henry, bewildered. "You still see Coop?"

At Henry's shrug, Phoebe explained once more that Henry had never met Cole, so the spell didn't affect him.

"This is going to get confusing," Paige sighed.

"Not necessarily," Cole pointed out. "To everyone else, I'm still Coop. It's probably best if we get used to calling me by that name. I know that no one is actively looking for me right now, but the Underworld, or what's left of it, will have their eyes on you three. And if Phoebe is suddenly spending time with a guy named Cole... Well let's just say that demons are going to get suspicious, no matter who I look like. "

"Cole's right," Leo agreed. "It'll be hard enough for the four of us to remember to call him Coop, especially now that we can see his true form. But it'll be too much for Henry to remember that he's actually Cole, and remember not to call him that. If he just sees Coop, he might as well call him that. If Cole's identity is ever revealed, the threat against him will put us all in danger. We can't let that happen." He directed his gaze at his sons.

Cole's eyes followed Leo's and he understood immediately. "Leo, if it ever comes to that, I won't let anything happen to anyone else, especially not your boys."

"So, then let Henry call him Coop, and the rest of us will make sure that we do in public too. It may seem confusing, but we've managed it before, remember? It took us a while to get it right, but eventually the Bennett cousins lived together without any problems," Phoebe reminded them.

As Piper and Paige nodded, Henry put up his hand. "So, um, I kind of stopped understanding what was going on a while ago. Who are the Bennett cousins?"

"Why don't we explain over dinner?" Cole suggested. Noticing the amused looks he was receiving, he protested, "I've _really_ missed her cooking, okay?"

* * *

As Piper brought out the dessert, Phoebe glanced at Cole, and squeezed his hand. He nodded to her with a shrug.

"Cole and I have something to tell you guys," Phoebe smiled. She raised her left hand, showing off her ring, "We're getting married!"

"Now before you all jump in, let me assure you that we're both ready for this," Cole emphasised. "It may seem sudden, but it's something we've been waiting for, for years now. There's no one we'd rather be with, than each other, so there's no reason to wait."

The couple looked around the table anxiously, waiting to hear the objections, but none came.

"That's great news!" Leo exclaimed. "Welcome to the family, uh again, Cole!"

"Congratulations," Piper smirked. "I've got to say, though, we kind of saw this coming."

"Just do us a favour? This time, no dark ceremony, please?" Paige quipped.

"Fine," Cole chuckled. "And no invisible bridesmaids either," he joked.

"Actually," Phoebe smiled, "I have the perfect place in mind. And if she will help, the perfect person too."

* * *

_[Flash orward- 8 x 22- Forever Charmed]_

_Phoebe clasps Cole's hands in front of an altar at Magic School. _

"_Do you, Phoebe Halliwell, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" asks the Angel of Destiny._

_Phoebe looks into the deep blue eyes, that few other people can see, and grins, "I do."_

_This time there was no fanfare, no desperate attempts at perfection, because she knew that finally getting to marry Cole, free of any outside influences, ensured that nothing could ruin her special day._

_[Flash Forward- about 15 years into the future]_

_Cole was seated in an armchair, in the living room of their new house, and looked up at his hovering wife. The kids were at school, and Phoebe had worked from home to be with Cole, whose charges had all given him the day off. _

_He shut the book he was reading, and grinned, "It's amazing, Phoebe!"_

_Phoebe's face lit up with joy. "You really think so? Do you think people will actually buy it? It was a lot harder than writing a column. Are you sure it's good?"_

_Cole stood up, and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "It's perfect. I guess you really owe me, I mean the Source, for everything, huh?"_

"_What are you talking about?" Phoebe asked in confusion. "What does the Source... Oh, yeah I guess you're right! If he hadn't gone after the old columnist..."_

"_Then you would have never filled in for her," Cole finished. "And you would never have become the amazing writer that you are. It's a great story."_

"_Well we've been through a lot to get where we are," Phoebe pointed out with a smile._

"_I just wish you could write about _all_ the trials you had to overcome to finally 'find love'. It would be even more amazing," Cole said wistfully._

"_As long as we know, that's all that matters. It took us a long time, but it was worth it. Hey, we even achieved your human dream! Three wonderful daughters, a nice house, and we finally got that dog!" Phoebe hugged Cole tighter. _

"_You forgot the beautiful wife," Cole whispered. "I love you, Phoebe."_

"_I love you too, Cole," Phoebe replied with a kiss. "I love you too."_

* * *

**A/N: Well that's the end of my first Charmed story! I can't believe it's finally finished! Thanks to everyone who read this story and encouraged me to continue writing it.**

**A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed this story:**

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**Thanks also to those others who added me to Favourites and Alerts:**

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**And another big thanks to everyone else who read Meant To Be! You guys are so awesome I hope you enjoyed it! :D :D**


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